The Bridge...preview A Walking Dead FanFic
This is a preview of a fanfic I will be putting up....just want to see what you guys think...in this preview there is no walker action...it is a part of character establishing...any feedback is welcome.
The Bridge
Hanna looked up at the noon day sun. It was good to see it shining so brightly. Winter had been hard in Northern Ohio. Now things were thawing out and she and the gang of idiots could get back to moving trade between the settlements.
Adam moved beside her as they hiked along the highway, his long blond hair glistened in the sun. Hanna smiled at him.
"So, do you think winter is really over?" she asked.
"Well if the walkers see their shadow..we may be in for more", he replied with a grin. "Though that's the bad part of spring isn't it, back to watching out for walkers and herds. Shit Hanna, look around us. Last year we had more people running this route with us, and more the year before. Now we pray for early and longer winters.
"Holy fuck Adam, and I thought Billy was a fucking downer." She sped up to get some distance from him. Asshole, she thought to herself. Her fair skin and red hair had insured that she never paid for her own drinks when at a bar, but when she was upset...pissed off...she got blotches of red. That had always anoyed her and was the source of no small amount of taunting during school when she was younger. She still hated it.
She did look around at the gang of idiots. Billy was pestering Samantha, they had been a couple for a few months last year. They were so different, he was a glass half empty guy, any time something happened he had this, I told you so, look that just made you want to puch him in the face until it stopped being funny. Samantha on the other hand was upbeat and a joy. She had been an aspiring singer and really had a beautiful voice to go along with her girl next door looks. She had been the first friend Hanna had made in the group. Billy on the other hand...well fuck him.
There was John, he had been a baptist preacher for almost thirty years. Even though he was pushing close to sixty, he was in better shape than others in the group...like Billy. John was interested in one thing...trying to keep society going. That was why the gang of idiots ran these trade routes between the settlements in Ohio and Michigan. He lost his entire family during the outbreak. he had had two daughters, twins...one went to OSU the other to Michigan. Universities with large populations did not fare well during the outbreak. He kept point today his crossbow swayed across his back, the walkers they had seen so far were still pretty slow...some had not even thawed out yet. It had been a disapointment when Hanna found out that they did not freeze to death like she almost did.
The horses pulled the cart filled with goods. Dried meats...seeds, ammo, washcloths..mason jars of vegetables...canning had become a way of life in the farming communities...they traded for ammo and medical supplies. Alan was on the reigns...which was good...cause Tom and Jerry the horses still spooked Hanna. Damn walker magnets it always seemed to her. Alan was good with the horses, sorta dimwitted in other matters...but a kind hearted man of fourty some years. He kept a rifle close to him and had proven to be one of the best shots...but up close to the walker...he panicked. That did not bother Hanna, not everyone was brave...or stupid enough to get into close range with the walkers.
She readjusted the crossbow on her back, it was a different one. Just before the new year, Aurora was attacked by bandits. She had run out of bolts and used her old one to club some teenager to death who was trying to stick a knife into her. It did the job but broke. She had had to trade alot of stuff for this new one...and it rested in different places than the old one had. She had also got a new toy.
Her hand rested on the grip of her .45...then moved over to the hilt of her gladius. She had traded some toilet paper she had found in a camper and food...and a few other things that had been unpleasant. It was a heavier than it's size would make you think. It was shapened on top and bottom...made it easier to stab into skulls and cut off arms.
It was almost hillarious in a dark way...how weapons like her gladius and the crossbow were becoming the normal things in life. Before all of this, just being able to make rent and take in a movie was surviving. God she missed movies.
She pulled the gladius out of it's sheath...the leather on the grip was still relatively unstained...the sword was basically a hunk of sharpened metal with a loop of leather at the end of the hilt that went through a hole. This insured that you couldn't easily loose the gladius. It was only a little longer than a machete...but the dual edges and the weight made it so much more reliable...and unlike say a katana or other such item...it could be used in close confines.
"You know Hanna, I do believe you are in love with that sword." Hanna jumped, Billy had crept up behind her.
"Holy shit asshole, don't do that." A chuckle escaped her as the surge of fear subsided. "Sam get tired of you? Hanna and Billy both looked back at Samantha. She replied with a middle finger.
"She is swimming the red river right now, not going to get any stimulating conversation out of her."
"Yeah...conversation, and Billy..anything to do with you, I would not call it stimulating." She smiled sweetly.
"So you think winter is finally done with us for the year?"
The question took her by surprise, Billy actually asking a good question.
"Well, if the Walkers see their shadows...."
"Yeah, yeah and then we wait for the Easter Bunny to bring us all sorts of treats. Come off it Han...we are going up north into Michigan and crossing that fucking bridge. Remember last year when we misjudged the winter?"
The Macinac Bridge, over 26 thousand feet long....gets fucking cold when a blizzard hits with 40 mph crosswinds. Add to that half frozen walkers that shockingly become pretty active when you walk into them...plus having a fire for warmth gives them something to go for. They lost 5 people...2 to walkers...the rest froze to death....all so St. Ignace could get some supplies.
Hanna still remembered when she woke up and Lexxi, the youngest member at 15 had frozen to death even though they had tried to keep each other warm. Then went Darren...bit and turned. Asshole had not told them...John had pushed him over the side. Ethan and Phil had frozen to death when they tried to push on to St. Ignace. So much clutter on the bridge and the walkers...you need to plan your rout...it is a fucking maze. Then Trey on the day the blizzard finally ended...walker grabbed him and they both fell into the water...Trey never surfaced.
"Yes I remember, but we waited longer this time. I guess all we have to worry about are frisky walkers.
"You do so ease my mind Hanna."