Roamers (Book 1)

by Viper, Velveteen

  “Well head back to where you left us yesterday. Chino’ll have what you need.”

  “Great. On our way.”

  The walk was long and, despite the chill of the night before, the sun was remarkably hot. When they found the others, they both squeezed into Riley’s SUV and directed him to Travis’ vehicle.

  At their new camp, Scarlett eventually dragged herself out of her misery and managed to give the children a lesson on assembling a tent and building a fire.

  The five tents were set up in a circle around the campfire with the group’s vehicles surrounding them, both for protection and in case of a quick getaway. Scarlett had elected to share with the children, leaving Riley and River free to have their own to themselves. Travis had enough space in his to assemble a small camping bed, allowing him to store his weapons underneath for easy access during the night.

  That night, after the children were asleep, the other survivors sat around the fire in silence, reflecting on what was lost. They all knew that the amount of Roamers wandering the grounds would be too many for them to take out. They’d run out of ammo and energy before even making a dent.

  In the panic, they hadn’t been able to gather any of the supplies, and knowing that it would be near impossible to go back seemed to drain what little hope remained within the group. They were now left with the emergency supplies kept in the cars; a little food and water and a jerry can of fuel in each.

  Fatigue finally got the better of Scarlett and she decided to turn in for the night. She said goodnight to her fellow fighters, sharing a comforting hug with River before padding over to the children’s tent, shadowed by Number Six. Travis hastily followed, grabbing her by the arm to get her attention. Scarlett flinched and tore her hand away.

  “Sorry,” Travis began, placing his hands clumsily on his hips, “I thought we could go back tomorrow, to Bluehaven. See what we can salvage,” Scarlett’s face didn’t give much away and Travis assumed he’d said the wrong thing, “You know what, I’ll ask Riley. You need to rest--”

  “No. I’ll go with you,” Scarlett finally responded, “I’ll be fine in the morning. We should head out as soon as the sun’s up.” Travis nodded and started for his own tent, “Hey,” he turned back to face her, “Sorry about yesterday. You were right, I was being selfish. I’m just tired. I want to do my best for these people and I will. They are my family now.”

  “Forget it. I understand. It’s a lot of responsibility. It’s okay to be scared.”

  They looked at each other for a moment, the amicable atmosphere between them confusing and awkward. Travis quickly darted his gaze at the ground and scoffed before glancing back at Scarlett who half-smiled.

  “Goodnight,” she said gently, just wanting her bed.

  “Yeah, ‘night,” Travis responded, giving a quick nod.

  Travis made for his tent, but not to sleep. He began searching his bag for something he’d been saving for moments like this one. Frustrated, he tipped the contents onto his sheets. The last item to fall was a small wooden box. Travis sat on his camping bed with his back to the tent opening before lifting the lid.

  Scarlett lay in her tent next to the sleeping children, one of whom had an elbow pressing firmly into her shoulder. She once again found that, despite her fatigue, she couldn’t sleep. She sighed and delicately stood up, stepping carefully toward the tent opening and out into the night air. Number Six was sleeping just outside and Scarlett crept past him, noticing that there was light glowing in Travis’ tent. She made her way over and poked her head inside.

  “Knock, knock,” she whispered.

  Travis hastily began shoving things back inside the box.

  “What are you doing?” Scarlett asked suspiciously.

  “Nothin’...”

  Scarlett had already invited herself in and noticed a neatly rolled joint resting between Travis’ fingers. She stared at him and he looked at her like a belligerent child.

  “I didn’t know you smoked that shit.”

  “Yeah, well there’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he responded gruffly, “and it ain’t like it’s any of your business neither.”

  They just looked at each other for a moment before Scarlett spoke up.

  “Are you gonna share it or not?” she asked with a smile. “I’ve never had one before and... Well, I could die tomorrow, so screw it.”

  “You serious?” he asked, surprised.

  Scarlett nodded and Travis couldn’t stop a subtle smirk sneaking onto his face.

  They made their way to Travis’ truck and got comfortable in the flat-bed, lying side by side. Travis held the joint between his lips to light it. It was so quiet that Scarlett could hear the crackle of the paper as it burned.

  Travis immediately passed it to her and she took a few long, slow drags before handing it back.

  “You seemed to enjoy that for someone who ain’t tried it before.” Travis stated.

  “I might have lied about that. There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Travis.” She smiled.

  “No shit.” He chuckled.

  “So, tomorrow...” Scarlett started, “Do you think we’ll make it inside?”

  Travis exhaled, allowing sweet smelling smoke to billow from his lips and nose.

  “I don’t know. But we gotta try. We need as much as we can get from Bluehaven. Better that it’s just the two of us goin’. We’ll have more chance of sneakin’ in.”

  “The two of us?” Scarlett questioned, “You’ve changed your tune.”

  “Maybe I’ve learned somethin’ from you. I thought I did better on my own, but I guess that’s ‘cause I’d been on my own for so long. Even before the turn.”

  “Why? You’re clearly not the asshole we all thought you were.”

  “It don’t matter.”

  “It does. Come on, Travis. You’re so adamant that I don’t know you... That’s because you don’t let anyone in. So, why were you alone?”

  Travis sighed and passed the joint back to Scarlett.

  “I had a sister. Diane. She was a mess. Somehow, despite all the substances in her body she managed to get pregnant by her dealer boyfriend. He used to beat the shit outta her. When I found out I had her come stay with me. It didn’t take long for him to find her. Anyway, I get home one night and I can hear screamin’. I run inside and see him beatin’ her to a fuckin’ pulp, yellin’ right in her face. I pull him away... and she’s sat in a pool of blood, out cold. I couldn’t help it, I flew at him. I start hittin’ him in the face, stomach, chest, anywhere I can. Before I can think, I’ve got my hands around his throat and he’s turnin’ blue... When he stopped strugglin’ I realised what I’d done. Neighbours had called the cops already and I could hear the sirens. So I just ran. I spent six months hidin’ before all this. Then I found The City.”

  Scarlett sat for a moment, not knowing what to say. She was surprised that Travis’ story didn’t seem to have any effect on the way she saw him.

  “I’m sorry about your sister. And don’t be ashamed, you were just trying to protect her.”

  “But I didn’t protect her. She lost her baby that night and maybe her own life. I didn’t stick around long enough to find out. Don’t you care that I killed a man? Ain’t you scared?”

  “You tried, Travis. It’s not your fault – it might have been too late already. And no, I’m not afraid of you. I wasn’t afraid when you were holding a knife to my throat, so why should I be now? Sure, you can be a dick, but I don’t think you have it in you to kill someone without good reason. I still think you’re a good man. However much you try to convince me otherwise.”

  “There’s still time.” Travis replied with a grin. “How you feelin’ anyway?”

  Scarlett looked at him through hazy eyes.

  “I feel calm... Relaxed. Warm. I feel like I should be laughing, but that it would feel wrong if I did... Also thirsty. You?”

  “It’s okay to laugh. You can’t change what happened today, so what’s the alternative? Just laugh. Th
is is the last of my pot anyway, so make the most of it. It won’t be long before the sun’s up and we’re tryin’ to get ourselves killed again.”

  “I can’t think of anything funny right now.”

  “Jimmy was a funny guy, right? You never did finish your story about the first time he met your mum.”

  With that, Scarlett sat up and glanced back at Travis. She stared at him for a moment as a huge grin crept across her face and she burst into laughter. Not just a little bit either. Travis also sat up and tried to stifle a snigger but the more Scarlett cackled, the less he could hide his own amusement.

  Once she’d calmed down, Scarlett looked at Travis. He’d already stopped laughing. He seemed down again, and Scarlett’s smile quickly faded.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He glanced at her briefly before directing his gaze toward the tree line.

  “Nothin’.” He lied.

  “Travis.” Scarlett said defiantly, “You’ve just shared with me a secret that previously only you knew. A few seconds ago you were laughing with me, and now you look completely hopeless. What is it?”

  “It’s nothin’. You were right; it does feel wrong to laugh.”

  Scarlett thought for a moment and she remembered something that Riley had told her the day they cleared Bluehaven.

  “Have you got any music in this thing?”

  “What?” Travis said, sitting himself up.

  Scarlett turned around, slid open the truck’s back window and leaned inside. She was just able to squeeze in far enough to reach the glove compartment. There was a single cassette tape wedged between a box of ammunition and an empty water bottle. Scrawled on the front of the tape was the artist’s name.

  “Tom Waits.” Scarlett read aloud. “Nice.”

  Travis said nothing, still confused, while Scarlett proceeded to turn the key in the ignition, lighting up the dashboard. She pushed the cassette into the stereo and hit play. Moments later, the song ‘Hold On’ began to play. Scarlett turned it up enough that they could hear it outside the truck, but not loud enough that it would wake the others.

  “Come on.” Scarlett instructed, climbing out of the flatbed.

  “What are you doin’?” Travis asked.

  “Just trust me, come down here.”

  Travis sighed heavily, partly through frustration, partly due to exhaustion, but joined Scarlett on the ground nonetheless.

  “What now?”

  Scarlett smiled and stood herself directly in front of him. She could see that he felt awkward, but took his hands and placed them on her waist as he looked anywhere but her eyes. She then put her hands on his shoulders and began to move with the music.

  “‘When in doubt, dance it out.’” she quoted.

  “This is ridiculous.”

  “Just go with it.”

  “You’re ridiculous.”

  Travis still appeared nervous, yet he allowed his feet to follow Scarlett’s. She slipped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest.

  “You’re not bad.” She teased.

  “Shut up, this is weird.”

  Travis looked down at her and tentatively rested his chin on the top of her head and his arms unconsciously pulled her a little closer.

  She was warm, and the warmth that she exuded spread from Travis’ bare arms to his chest, to his spine and his face. He could feel her heart beating and a sense of panic radiated throughout his body. This closeness; the act of holding somebody, was not something that Travis had ever experienced in that way before.

  His first instinct was to pull away, but the more he considered his own feelings, the more he wondered how Scarlett felt in that moment. He wondered if that was what friendship felt like; the fuzziness of intimacy with another human being, coupled with their mutual understanding of one another. Whatever it was, it was nice, he thought. He was still reeling about seeing no judgment in her eyes for his past. She’d almost shrugged it off. He didn’t know what he’d expected; probably shock, fear and malice, but he’d received none of that.

  Scarlett, although sensing his embarrassment, felt secure in Travis’ hold. She could hear the steady, if a bit faster than normal, thumping in his chest. She could smell him; that musky, tobacco-y scent that she was beginning to adore. He flinched when she slid her arms down and around his waist, but relaxed again almost immediately.

  They stayed that way; warm, close and confused, revolving on the spot until the last beat of the song.

  Chapter Nine:

  Scarlett felt the sting of the bright sunlight on her eyelids and, feeling as though she’d only been asleep a few minutes, grudgingly opened them to find that she was in the back of Travis’ truck with a blanket draped over her. She sat up, rubbed her face and glanced around, puzzled.

  Travis was at the campfire, preparing a little breakfast for the two of them - rabbit - apparently having already been hunting.

  Scarlett made her way over and sat herself opposite him as he handed her a small amount of meat on a stick.

  “I was just about to wake you up.” Travis stated, chewing on his kill.

  “I can’t believe I fell asleep there last night...”

  “Made yourself right at home too... Don’t worry about it.”

  Once they’d finished eating, Scarlett woke Riley, letting him know that she and Travis were going back to the hotel. He wasn’t keen on the idea, but trusted that his proxy little sister would be safe in Travis’ company.

  The pair took Number Six and borrowed Riley’s SUV for a careful drive back to Bluehaven. On arrival, the hotel grounds were crawling with Biters, as suspected. Travis stopped the car away from the corpses to discuss a plan.

  “We ain’t getting in through the main entrance,” he pointed out, “What about the back?”

  “They got in there first,” Scarlett replied, “I think we should try for the first floor. We can search the bedrooms and then see if we can make it to the kitchen and the generators.”

  “It’s a good plan, but how’re we gonna get up there?”

  Scarlett gestured toward the steering wheel.

  “May I?”

  Travis nodded and they clumsily swapped sides; Travis scooted to the right while Scarlett climbed over him. Once in the driver’s seat, Scarlett started speedily toward the hotel. Travis clung to the handle on his door and Number Six barked excitedly as she drove, mowing down any Roamers that happened to get in her way.

  She opened the sunroof as they got closer and pulled up underneath an open window on the first floor.

  “You crazy bitch!” Travis exclaimed upon realising what she was doing.

  “Have you got a better idea?” she asked, grabbing an empty rucksack from the back seat and ensuring that her axes were properly secured to her hips.

  Scarlett disappeared onto the roof as Travis watched, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He also picked up a bag and followed Scarlett onto the roof, reaching back inside for his weapon.

  Only now did Scarlett seem to realise her height was less than sufficient for reaching the window above, so Travis held out his hands and Scarlett, with one hand on the back of his head, was almost catapulted onto the first floor. Travis threw her his weapon and proceeded to climb through himself.

  The bedroom door was closed, and Scarlett was already stood with her ear to it, listening for Biters. When she couldn’t hear anything, she carefully opened the door and poked her head out. Travis appeared above her, each looking in opposite directions. There was a solitary Roamer a few metres up the hall. It didn’t pose a threat, so Travis led down the eerily quiet corridor, his crossbow resting under his chin.

  Scarlett crouched down at the top of the stairs, trying to get a better look at the floor below them. There were a few Roamers inside, but not too many for them to handle, provided that they could close the main door and prevent more from getting in.

  Travis removed the quiver from his back and silently set it down beside him. He laid himself down on his front next to Scarlet
t, aiming his bow between two bars in the banister.

  “Get the doors,” he instructed, “I'll cover you.”

  Scarlett nodded and began stealthily descending the stairs while Number Six remained glued to her side. Checking around the corner which led to the dining hall, she noticed what she estimated to be a further dozen Biters. Fully trusting that Travis had her back should she be heard, she made a bolt for the heavy oak doors anyway, slamming them shut before turning to face the staircase, drawing her axes in preparation for combat.

  Travis stood and made his way down to join her, slinging his bow over a shoulder and reaching instead for his hunting knife. In his haste, he slipped on the bottom step, managing to stay on his feet until Scarlett grabbed him, pulling him out of reach of a hungry Biter. She yanked him with such force that he lost his balance, falling sideways and scraping his left arm along a corner of the heavy, metal shelving unit that stood in the entrance. Blood began to seep from the wound almost instantly, but Travis had to allow it as they fought off the remaining cadavers.

  When they had put the last of them down, they made their way to the kitchen where the food, water and medical supplies where kept. Scarlett stood in front of the door and wiped the sweat from her face. She was very aware that she had closed it the day before on several residents while they were being attacked.

  Travis had wrapped a dirty rag around his arm to stop the bleeding. He gently pushed Scarlett’s hand away from the door handle, pulling her behind himself protectively.

  He made a fist and thumped on the door four times. A few seconds passed before Travis’ knocks were returned, accompanied by the familiar hissing sound of the undead.

  They looked at each other, both thinking the same thing: we need those supplies.

  “Okay,” Travis started, “this has to be controlled. Let them out one at a time and I’ll put them down.”

  “What if I can’t hold the door?”

  “Then I’ll do it. They’ll come out fast though, so watch yourself.”

  “I can handle it. I can’t believe you’re showing concern for me.” Scarlett retorted sarcastically.