Thread: Eat Someone Else {PatientOne & AnnaBeth Belle}

It only worked because of his hand around her neck. Whether it was deep need for and worry about Him, or just a purely inappropriately sexy thought that was born of trauma, Alexander's hand around her throat was so fucking raw and intense that Hannah found herself not arguing as he took control of the situation. The only sign of an objection would be her nail marks in the skin of his upper chest where she'd clung like the world's oddest tick as Alexander got them down the rope. Wait- she said, wanting to warn him about the walkers, about not getting bit by them, about not walking across the street with no shoes on for Christ's sake! The rough road surface didn't seem to bother him though, nor did the walker who used to be the chief. Much like a surgeon, Alexander neatly and clinically took the walker down and then killed it. Or re-killed it. Whatever it was called when you made something that had been alive and was now not dead like dead for reals. That was it Dead for Reals. Good slogan. What am I, your Uber? she asked when Alexander came back and kept bossing her around. After starting the big SUV, she turned around in her seat to look at him, intending to ask Alexander just who he thought he was. Could you- Oh. You're passed out. Again. Hannah sighed while she watched to make sure his chest was rising and falling. When she as sure he wasn't coding, she put the Suburban in gear and, after looking left and right for traffic that of course wasn't there, drove them out of the ER parking lot. Going slowly, using the time to think, Hannah got her first good look at the neighborhood since the hospital became a death trap. The walkers on the streets instinctively headed for the moving truck, but even at almost an idle it wasn't any problem to stay ahead of them. Bodies were frequently seen and all looked like they'd been ripped into. Except the walker bodies. Those didn't get gnawed on, they just dropped where they had been made Dead for Reals. Seems like walkers were only interested in live meat. Automatically her hands twisted the wheel to head towards the house. His house. Her safety. He had to be safe. He was her rock, her everything. Forgetting about the man who'd just helped her escape the hospital, the man she swore to keep safe, Hannah gave in and headed towards her home. It was a slow drive, navigating through stalled and abandoned cars, bodies, and just an amazing amount of junk. Twice she had to bump over a body and it felt exactly like a supermarket parking lot speed bump, only squishier. Tires left racks of old blood and rotting flesh for a block or so each time. Habit also drove Hannah to reach for her phone, only it wasn't there. It was somewhere back in the hospital, lost. Gone. Not that cell service had worked. No, but maybe radio did. The Suburban slowed to a stop in the middle of the street, no walkers nearby, and Hannah looked down at the dash. It had a lot of switches that she was sure ran lights and sirens, neither of which she wanted to turn on and draw walkers in with. There. The radio mic. Hello? Can anyone hear me? Cold silence was her only answer. Hannah keyed the mic again. Hello? This is, uh, the proper etiquette had slipped out of her mind. Oh. This is Liberty Central ER base. Anyone on this frequency, can you hear me? Anyone? Nothing. Hannah tried switching channels and turned knobs randomly but never heard a response. A scan of the local radio stations didn't get anything either, just static where she knew for a fact her favorite radio stations had been before. The only thing that seemed to still work was the built in GPS in the center of the console. That made sense. No walkers in space and the satellites had their own solar panels or something. Hannah checked again for walkers and saw a few, so she drove a few blocks then stopped again to try the radios one last time. Still nothing. Home was just a few blocks away now. Anxiously she sat forward, almost kissing the steering wheel with her chest, and stared through the window ahead. No. No no no no. Their street was just swarming with walkers. Literally from side to side like a wave of undead water. They were in houses and out of houses and milling around. The ones closest to her saw the Suburban and lurched towards it, hissing and drawing the attention of others. Hannah froze. Was He in there? Was He safe or would she suddenly see Him with dead eyes and gone grey flesh? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I can't, she said and tried to turn the Suburban around, taking out a mailbox and smacking the side of a parked car. Its alarm began to blare, making the walkers move faster. As she drove away, Hannah reached up and shoved the rear view mirror askew so she wouldn't be tempted to look at it. To look for Him. Get out of the city. That was what they had to do. Higher population, more walkers. More walkers, more chances to die. Get out to the country and in the open and you might not even see a walker for miles. Completely ignoring Alexander's instructions to go to the address he gave, Hannah headed the opposite way. There was a fairly open section of country to the East, lots of wooded areas where they would be hard to see. And weren't there some guest cabins out that way? Be real nice if Google maps was working. Hannah sighed and kept driving, weaving slowly around cars and coming no closer to walkers than she had to. The closest one got was grabbing at the side of the truck as it went past but it wasn't able to hold on. An hour outside of the city, Hannah pulled off onto an undeveloped county road. No special reason why, just that it seemed to be very empty and safe. For a few minutes she drove and then stopped, turned off the lights, and then the engine. Silence. Minute after minute of silence. Maybe they were safe here. Leaving the key in the ignition and the door locked, she squirmed into the back seat and sat on the far side. A little tugging and she was able to slide Alexander's head into her lap and rest her hand on his chest. If he coded, most likely with an attending seizure, Hannah would feel and hear it. It was also comforting to feel the contact of another human. Feeling safer than in days, she leaned her head back and decided to close her eyes for just a few minutes. Just until dawn.