Roamers (Book 1)

by Viper, Velveteen

  Travis strode over to her and pulled out his hunting knife from his belt before leaning into the car and jabbing it though the eye, putting it out of its misery.

  “You good?” Travis asked. Scarlett took a deep breath.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” she replied, her face pale.

  They made their way to the large wooden front door, and Scarlett thought about what a beautiful place this must have been before the end; stunning wild flowers decorating the outside of the building along with the now empty hanging baskets either side of the porch.

  As Travis lightly pushed the door with his crossbow, which he had rested under his chin, it swung open. Scarlett and Travis looked at each other with uncertainty before entering, Scarlett first, with Travis closely following.

  Inside, the large cottage was attractive, not exactly to Scarlett’s taste, but it had been extremely well kept. Flower-patterned wallpaper adorned the top half of the walls in the hallway and the bottom half was panelled with dark oak, matching the floorboards. The only obvious difference between then and before was the thick layer of dust which covered the floor, door handles, stairs and the eclectic collection of photographs and ugly ornaments which appeared to be concealing every available surface.

  Travis pushed open the door to the living room and Scarlett entered first, holding her axe ready to strike. The room was just as charming as the hallway, with a floral three-piece suite, wooden floor and a quaint fireplace positioned where most people would set their TV. The room was empty of Biters, and Scarlett led Travis through to the large kitchen.

  As they crossed the threshold, Scarlett admired the homely feel of the light wood counters and granite worktops, the old-style AGA cooker, CD player, large ceramic sink and pink roller blinds at the windows. In the centre of the room was a hefty island for preparing food. The smell was awful, however, forcing them both to cover their faces, and they could hear the ominous humming of flies.

  As she walked around the island, Scarlett made a gruesome discovery; a man, just as decomposed as the woman in the car, was laid on the floor, crawling with flies and maggots. Scarlett ran to the sink and heaved, but nothing came up. She hadn’t eaten since the night before, so the sting of stomach acid once again burned her throat.

  A sudden heat flooded her entire body, and every pore began to leak with sweat. Her legs started to shake and her heart raced. The sick feeling in her stomach was only growing worse and she felt as though the centre of her head, right behind her nasal cavity, was being pulled.

  Travis got closer to the body; crossbow prepared to fire, and noticed a breadknife lodged in its head, entering under the chin.

  “Well, he’s dead.” He observed. “Let’s check upstairs. I don’t think we’re gonna find anythin’, but just to be safe. Then we can look for some chemicals. Get that body dealt with.”

  Scarlett finally lifted her head and turned to face him. Light-headedness overcame her as she tried to approach Travis and everything started to go dark. Travis noticed and managed to drop his weapon and catch her before she hit the hard tiled floor.

  * * *

  Scarlett frowned and attempted to open her eyes. The light was too much for her and all she wanted to do was sleep.

  “Come on, Scar. Wake up,” she heard.

  She no longer needed convincing. The sound of Travis’ voice told her she was safe and the feel of his hand on her forehead was enough to make her flutter her eyes open and look him drowsily in the face, “Can you walk? We need to get you back to camp.” Scarlett realised she was lying on one of the over-patterned sofas as Travis helped her to sit up and get on her feet. He supported most of her weight before scooping her up in his arms. Scarlett felt comforted and placed her arms around his neck, burrowing her head into his chest as he carried her out to the car.

  Back at camp, the other survivors looked on, concerned, as Travis pulled up and helped Scarlett out of the car. She was able to walk now, but still held on to Travis for support.

  He helped her to the tent and placed her gently on the bed, pulling his blankets up to her chest.

  “I’ll get you somethin’ to eat.” He said soothingly.

  He stroked her hair before going back outside to talk to Henry.

  Henry was sat by the campfire with River, Riley, Jack, Chino and Felix as Travis trudged over, hoping Henry would examine Scarlett.

  “Hey, Doc, you got a sec?” Henry stood and excused himself, wandering over to Travis, “Do you think you could take a look at Scarlett? I think she’s really sick; she’s not been eatin’, she’s sleepin’ all the time and she passed out with no warnin’ while we were scoutin’. Not to mention the Ralphin’ this mornin'.”

  Henry surveyed Travis with raised eyebrows.

  “Do you really not know?” he asked, astonished, “Scarlett is showing all the early signs of pregnancy.” Travis felt the blood drain from his face as the Doctor spoke, feeling as though he could pass out himself at any second, “She’s been vomiting every day for the past three weeks or so. Probably fainted due to lack of food. Nobody's said anything because we're waiting until she's ready to talk about it, but we've all noticed. I assumed you'd have been the first to know, sharing a tent with her and all.”

  Travis ran his hands through his hair and inhaled deeply.

  “Did you tell anyone?” he asked.

  “Not me,” Henry answered, “but it was Riley who drew my attention to Scarlett being unwell. He said he’d seen her throwing up and assumed she had some sort of bug,” Henry looked around a little before leaning in closer, “If you ask me, my money’s on him being the father. They’ve always been close, and he seemed awfully concerned when I told him the reason for her sickness. Turned a shade of grey that I'd never even seen before.”

  Travis resisted the urge to punch the back of Henry’s head as he walked away, chuckling to himself.

  How the fuck could she just not tell him?

  Nope. Scarlett couldn’t do it. She couldn’t tell Travis about the baby. She hurriedly got herself out of bed and peered through the screens of the tent. Nobody was looking her way, so she took the opportunity to pick up her weapon belt and run. She’d already seen an abandoned car a couple of miles from the camp and hoped that the keys were still inside. She knew exactly where she was going.

  The heat of the sun beamed down on her as she walked for what felt like hours before she reached the vehicle. She was hungry and dehydrated, but had come this far. She couldn’t stop now, and she definitely wouldn't make it back. She dropped herself into the driver’s seat, noticing that she was in luck; the keys were in the ignition. Scarlett started the engine and headed for her destination. She began repeating in her mind all the reasons that what she was about to do was right and in everyone's best interests.

  Travis stormed into the tent he shared with Scarlett, ready to confront her about what she’d been keeping from him. He was going to be a father.

  His anger soon faded when he realised that she wasn’t there. He noticed that her weapons were missing, but that she hadn’t taken her canteen. Confused and afraid for her, he made his way back outside and glanced around in the hope that she’d got up to look for him. There was no sign of her.

  Then it dawned on him. She hadn’t told him because she had no intention of letting anyone know. Where she was, Travis didn’t know, but he would find her. He just hoped that he was able to do so before she did something stupid.

  Without a word to anyone, he left with Jack’s motorcycle, praying that he wasn’t too late.

  As she arrived at the field Travis had taken her to a few weeks before, Scarlett glanced despondently at the same lonely horse stood before her. She approached it carefully, offering a mint from a pack she’d found at the bottom of Travis' bag. The horse ate it gratefully and allowed Scarlett to stroke her.

  “That’s it girl,” Scarlett said softly as she patted her neck.

  Travis had taught her how to ride, but now she was going to use her new skill for something horrific. Sc
arlett started to sob as she mounted the animal, looking into the distance to see how far they could run. She hated herself for what she was about to do, but held on and encouraged the beast to gallop regardless. As the horse ran, throwing Scarlett painfully up and down, she kept in mind what having a baby would mean now; she would be useless during her pregnancy, stuck doing mundane chores like laundry or cooking, when she could be providing for the group with Travis. Then, once the child was born, it would constantly pose a risk to everyone else; every cry could mean being overrun by Roamers, not to mention, Scarlett couldn’t handle the thought of continuing with the pregnancy, only to lose her baby in the most horrifying way. In this world, even a simple infection could develop into much worse without access to the right medicine.

  Travis drove slowly, assuming that she’d still be walking and that she couldn’t have made it far on foot. An unacquainted feeling of panic began to brew deep inside of him.

  He wondered if that was an accurate feeling; he’d already admitted that he was in love with Scarlett, not that he truly knew what that felt like, but surely, he thought, if someone you care about is in potential danger, the last thing that would be useful is panic. He didn’t know, but he was still driven to find her.

  No one had made him feel the way she had. Even now, with suppressed anger bubbling away inside him and the knowledge that she was probably doing something awful to herself and their unborn child couldn’t change the way he felt about her.

  Shit, he thought as he drove, unborn child.

  He advanced on the field where he and Scarlett had spent the day forgetting that the world had ended and smiled a little. Then he saw her; on the horse, speeding his way. Travis’ mouth dropped open and he brought Jack’s motorcycle to a screeching halt. Scarlett heard and slowed the animal. Terror choked her and she began to bawl as Travis sprinted toward her, red-faced and frantic.

  She had no idea what to say to him; how to tell him that she was trying to kill their baby.

  She dropped herself to the ground to face him, hastily thinking up an excuse.

  “Travis, I --”

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doin’?” he interrupted furiously. Scarlett opened her mouth to answer, but her words were replaced by more tears, “Is this why you didn’t tell me?” he hissed.

  Scarlett’s eyes widened as she realised that he was already aware of her condition.

  “Travis, please.” She sobbed, “I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “Well you could’ve come to me for a start! We could’ve worked it out.”

  “I’m pregnant, Travis! I’m fucking pregnant! What is there to work out? I can’t have a baby, not while this is what it’s got to look forward to. What good would telling you have done?”

  “So that’s it? You’re just gonna kill it? I don’t even get a fuckin’ say?”

  Scarlett couldn’t distinguish whether the changed expression on his face was anger or hurt.

  “It’s for the best.” She said quietly. “You were right, Travis. If we hadn’t done what we did, this wouldn’t be happening now. It was stupid.”

  Travis took a step closer and put his hands on her shoulders, but Scarlett couldn’t look him in the eye.

  “Look at me, Scarlett. You were right. What we did... it happened, it’s happened since and it’ll probably keep happenin’ if you ever let me near you again. This ain’t exactly somethin’ I’d planned for, but there ain’t no fuckin’ way I’m lettin’ you do this. I can’t.” his face softened as he wiped a tear from her cheek.

  “Okay,” Scarlett said, reverting in her head to the original plan, “Then I have to leave.”

  “What?”

  “I can’t put everyone else in danger. This way, my baby gets a chance at living and all the people I love can be safe.”

  “No, you can’t leave.” Scarlett was amazed by the tone of desperation in his voice. “Yeah, it’s unexpected, and it’ll be hard, but that’s our baby in your belly. I ain’t never run away from a tricky situation, and I won’t let you... We make the best of today. Please, Scarlett.”

  He looked intensely into her eyes, trying to tell her something as he slid his hands down her arms and took hold of her hands.

  “I’m sorry, Travis.”

  “No. I’m not gonna let you go. I love you and I want you and our baby to be safe.”

  He pulled her close, all the fury and shock dissolving with her body being pressed against his, and he kissed her; that same devoted kiss. Scarlett knew he meant what he said, but was not expecting his next move.

  He began kissing down her neck and chest before kneeling and lifting Scarlett’s shirt to reveal a very slightly swollen abdomen. Not enough that she was showing, but for the first time, Travis noticed a definite difference. He placed a hand gently onto it and looked up at her.

  “You hear me?” he said.

  Scarlett nodded and rested her hand on the back of his head.

  “I hear you,” she confirmed.

  Chapter Fourteen:

  Scarlett was sure that her pregnancy was nearing its end, but had never been sure how far gone she was. She had a healthy and very neat bump, and regular checks were being carried out by Henry. They’d been at the corpse free cottage for what Scarlett approximated to be seven months and things were going well. She and Travis hadn’t touched each other since they moved in. They shared a room – they even shared a bed – but Travis seemed to have gone into some sort of ultimate hunter-gatherer mode, and appeared to be a little frightened of hurting Scarlett or the baby. Either that, Scarlett thought, or he simply wasn’t interested anymore.

  That morning, Travis had waited until after breakfast to reveal his creation, marching her to the bedroom they shared and making her cover her eyes while he opened the door for her and led her to the bed, motioning for her to sit down. He was only ever this sweet around Scarlett, and occasionally the children.

  Travis insisted that she keep her eyes shut while he dragged a heavy cot in from the balcony.

  “You can open your eyes now, Scar,” he said with a nervous smile.

  Scarlett took a sharp breath and her eyes filled as she looked at the beautiful crib. So that was why he disappeared into the woods behind the cottage every day, armed with an axe.

  Travis had made the infant cot out of thick, dark oak and it was stunningly natural looking.

  He demonstrated how one side detached in order to push it level with the bed and Scarlett wiped away her tears.

  “Sorry, Travis. I’m a big bag of fucking hormones right now. It’s so beautiful. Thank you.”

  Travis sat down next to her, holding his hand out in front of her protruding belly, awaiting approval. Scarlett nodded, grinning at him. He shyly laid his hand on her and the baby kicked him.

  “Whoa.” he said shyly, “She’s got some strength. You’re welcome.” He beheld Scarlett’s heavily pregnant body, but removed his hand.

  “How do you know it’s a girl in there?” Scarlett asked.

  “I just know is all,” he responded, “We Youngs have always had a knack for guessin’ the sex of a baby.”

  Scarlett glowed with love. Travis appeared to be a changed man, and Scarlett was happy. With the exception of River, who Scarlett knew wouldn’t breathe a word, the other members of the group were still unsure about the paternity of Scarlett’s baby, but nobody asked her directly. Ironically, nobody suspected Travis, simply because he didn’t seem like the type to have unprotected sex while the world was ending, or even before everything went tits up.

  When the other men of the group had discussed sex, some of them even mentioning what they’d do to Scarlett or River if they had the chance, Travis just didn’t involve himself in the conversation. Despite the two of them sharing a tent for so long, and now a room at the cottage, everyone assumed that their relationship was platonic. Travis, they thought, was just protecting a friend and vulnerable member of their group.

  Scarlett had become restless. There was only so much la
undry and house-keeping she could stand. She wanted to be back out there with Travis; hunting, scouting, gathering. Travis had set off into the woods after presenting her with the cot, and Scarlett could no longer resist the urge to join him. She just had to sneak out without being spotted. She knew that if anyone saw her, they’d stop her from leaving and she couldn’t deal with being made to feel like a useless burden, or a prisoner.

  “You should be resting…”

  “You can help River wash up…”

  “You won’t be any use to Travis like that…”

  “It’s not like you can run anywhere…”

  “There’s always water that needs boiling...”

  Travis had never come back from his trips into the woods with any sort of horror story. He never even mentioned seeing any Roamers out there. So, gathering her weapons, she took one last look around the room, trying to imagine life with a baby. Travis had been on regular runs to the town for baby equipment such as bottles, cloth nappies and clothes. He was so sure that he was right about the gender that most of the clothing he’d chosen was pink – not what Scarlett expected from him at all. He’d also found a few toys; wooden stacking blocks, rattles and even a small, soft, light brown teddy bear. He’d even been supplying Scarlett with maternity clothes, making sure she was as comfortable as possible.

  Scarlett made a stealthy exit out of the back gate which led straight into the woodland. Her weapon belt now sat just underneath her hips due to her swollen belly, and she wondered how long it would be after the baby was born until she was back to normal.

  The sunlight broke through the dense trees and warmed her as she thought about how far away Travis could be.

  A few hundred yards into her hike, Scarlett froze. She could hear the familiar shambling footsteps of a Roamer in the brush to her right. She made a grab for her axe as it hissed at her and began its approach, revealing a sunken, putrid, bloodied face. Scarlett strode over to the creature ready to swing when she tripped on a tree root, falling to her knees, just feet from the corpse. As neat as her bump was, she was unable to see her feet, making a solo walk through the woodland that much more dangerous, even without the Walkers.