Nicole slowly opened her eyes to a dark room. She tried to move but found her hands and feet were tied. Panic slowly started to seep into her brain until she felt Rick right next to her. His eyes were still closed and she tried to nudge him to wake him up when the small boy that knocked him out came into the room. “Daddy! She’s awake.” She lunged at him, scaring the boy just as his dad walked into the room.

“Let me go, you ass!” She yelled as she struggled against her bonds. She only stopped when he pulled a big handgun out and pointed it right at her face. She looked down the dark barrel and could barely make out the bullet at the end. She swallowed hard but continued to stare this man down. Rick stirred slightly and woke up, his eyes widening at the scene taking place right next to him.

“No! Leave her alone! She’s just a young girl!” Rick started struggling and it made Nicole very uncomfortable. She liked it better when he was unconscious. The man didn’t lower his defenses but he changed his tone slightly.

“Your bandages were disgusting. I changed them out for both of you. What were they? What were your wounds?” The man asked, alternating the gun between Nicole and Rick. Rick answered first.

“I was shot. I don’t what Nicole’s wound is, she never told me.”

“Only because you didn’t ask.” She replied sarcastically. All eyes were on Nicole as she slowly looked up at her captor, his son and her unlikely partner.

“Well, I’m asking you now, girl.” The man brought the gun to her face again.

“I was shot as well, at a stupid party I never wanted to go to in the first place.”

“Ok, so you both got shot, anything else?” The man asked as he slowly put his gun away only to trade it with a knife.

“Are you serious?” Nicole asked as she continued to struggle against the ropes holding her and Rick. “I was shot by a drunken dumbass at a party!” The man suddenly brought the knife to her neck and she stopped breathing all together, she just glared at her unknown captor and his small child. ‘What is going on here?’ She thought rapidly as the cold metal caused goose bumps to break out on her arms.

“You better keep your voice down, little miss.” He removed the knife but none of the hostility in his voice seemed to waver as he asked both of these strangers the same question in a very slow and menacing voice. “Did either of you get bit?”

“Bit?” Rick asked slowly eyeing the knife.

“Yea, bit. Maybe even scratched, chewed a little, anything at all?”

“I was shot, dude. That’s all. I swear to you.”

“So was I. I’m sure I would remember being bit.” Rick and Nicole looked up at this man, and his eyes seemed to soften slightly but not enough to let them go. He reached his hand out to Nicole and she flinched, scooting as close to Rick as she possibly could.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” He said softly as he placed a hand on Nicole’s cool and clammy brow. She kept her eyes closed and made sure she could still feel Rick next to her. Finally, he removed his hand and opened her eyes, seeing the man repeat the same process with Rick. The man then turned to his son and nodded. “They feel pretty cool. The fever would have killed the both of them by now.”

“We don’t have fevers. I can feel Nicole’s skin right now, she’s not even warm.” Rick told the man as he went to his side of the bed.

“Well that is one hard thing to miss. Your skin would be on fire right now.” The man sat on the bed and showed his knife to the both of them. “I want you to memorize the way this looks, the shape, the curve the sharpness. If either of you try anything, I will kill both of you without even thinking twice.” The threat in his voice was too much to argue with. Rick and Nicole didn’t say anything as he cut their ropes and stood up. “Come on out when you can, we’re cooking dinner. My name’s Morgan and this is my son, Duane.”

Morgan and Duane left the room and Nicole and Rick were left to their thoughts, wondering what the hell had just happened. Nicole was the first to move; she threw her legs over the side of the bed and sat upright. She rolled her shoulders and winced, as the pain on her side caused her to fall to the ground. Rick quickly got up and helped her, careful not to cause himself pain as well.

“Just relax, just chill ok. Calm down and breathe. Just breathe Nicole.” Rick rubbed her back and she finally was able to stand. She stood high and tall, really wishing she had a joint right now.

“I hurt still, my shot feels like its on fire sometimes.” He nodded once she looked up in his eyes.

“I know, I hurt too, let’s get some food in us.” He carefully led her to the other room, where Morgan and Duane were heating a bowl of beans over a small candle.

“That smells good.” Nicole smiled as she sat next to Duane. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in a year.” Morgan chuckled at the sight of Nicole’s eyes as Duane piled up the beans on her plate. Rick continued walking around the house.

“I’ve been here before. Fred and Cindy Drake live here.”

“We live here now. This place was completely empty when we got here. I never knew those people, the one’s you’re talking about.” He piled beans on a plate for Rick as he walked to the window. “Stop, they’re going to see the light if you do that.” Nicole looked up from her beans and Rick looked away from the window.

“They?” Rick and Nicole both said at the same time.

“The walkers. There are a lot of them outside tonight.”

“I’m sorry, Dad. I thought I could handle it. I didn’t mean to make you fire that gun.” Morgan grabbed his son’s arm in a gentle way.

“Duane it was worth saving you. I don’t regret it at all.” Nicole didn’t even know her tears were falling until Duane pointed it out.

“What’s the matter?” Nicole looked away and wiped her eyes. “Why are you crying?” He asked as he put a hand on her shoulder. Rick sat at the table and looked across it at Nicole.

“I’m not crying.” She said a little roughly, and looked away from everyone.

“She lost her dad. We were going to bury him before it got dark, but that never happened.” Nicole stopped crying as quickly as she started and continued eating. Duane looked at her in confusion as Morgan turned to Rick, wanting to get some explanation. Rick didn’t have one and he just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

“Why don’t we stop talking about that? How about you tell me what’s the world gone to? What exactly is going on here?” Nicole asked once she trusted herself not to cry again. “What are walkers? What happened?” She looked at Morgan and he sighed as he and Duane stood up, clearing the table and putting everything away.

“How do you not know?” That was all he asked. Nicole had to stop herself from shouting.

“I woke up today, ran into this guy, came home and found my dad dead on the floor of his room. That’s all I know.” Nicole sat on the floor and crossed her arms.

“I don’t mean to get you upset, Nicole.” Morgan kneeled down and touched her shoulder. She looked to him and was just about to say something when a car alarm started going off. Duane jumped and Morgan reached for him, as Rick went to Nicole.

“What’s going on?” She whispered to Rick as Morgan and Duane shut off all the candles and walked to the window.

“I don’t know.” He got up and went to the window with Nicole following him.

“One of the walkers just bumped a car. It’s always the same blue one.” Morgan told Rick as Nicole peeked out of the window and watched as walkers roamed the streets, unaware of each other. A woman came into view and Duane gave a small gasp next to Nicole.

“She’s here.” The woman looked like she was once very beautiful, but now she looked…dead. There was no life in her eyes and her eye sockets were visible underneath her taunt skin. She was opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. It was horrifying.

“Get back Duane. Get away from the window. Now!” Duane left the window and ran to his and Morgan’s mattress on the floor. Morgan ran after him and left Nicole and Rick at the window. Nicole turned to see Morgan holding onto Duane as he cried into a pillow. “That’s right, son. Let it all out, right into the pillow. Just like I told you, remember. It’s alright.” Rick kept watching this woman; she was looking at the house as if she somehow knew who was inside. She left his sight and Nicole quietly ran to the door and looked out the peephole. She was walking up the steps, right to the door and looked right into Nicole’s eye.

She then looked at the doorknob as Nicole did the same. She saw it jingle and gulped in fear, slowly backing away from the door. She went and knelt next to Rick, who was talking with Morgan. “That was my wife.” Rick and Nicole looked up at him as he continued to tell his story. “She was bit by one of those dead pieces of…” He exhaled sharply, and wasn’t ashamed of the tears falling freely. ”That’s why we posted up here. The streets were packed, too unfit to be on. Then, she started coming down with that fever. She couldn’t even move, so we didn’t try. Man, that fever was something else. Her skin was like its own sun. Then she died, and we were planning on burying her properly. That didn’t happen, because she came back, but she wasn’t herself. She was one of the walkers. I was going to end it, I swear it was, but I just couldn’t. I mean, she’s my wife. She’s the mother of my only child.”

He held onto Duane and didn’t say anymore. After about five minutes, Duane had fallen asleep, and Morgan got up to show Rick and Nicole where they would be sleeping. It was just one mattress. “Sorry, but that’s the only one.” Nicole went and laid down immediately falling asleep. Rick thanked Morgan and he exited the room, leaving Rick to his thoughts and a small mattress with a twenty year old woman already occupying it.

He sighed and went to sit on the edge farthest away from Nicole. He thought about his wife and son, he thought about what he was going to do when the sun rose in the morning. He lay down next to Nicole and with his back to her; he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Nicole woke with a start. She had a dream about her dad and Rael, and found her face was wet. She sighed and closed her eyes, laying her head back on Rick’s chest. Her eyes popped open and she jumped off the mattress so quick, she tripped on the one sheet and landed on the wooden floor with a hard thud, right on her gunshot wound.

The thud was loud enough to spring Morgan, Rick and Duane from their sleep and they all looked at Nicole as she lay out on the floor, gritting her teeth to keep a pain filled scream from escaping her lips. “What the hell happened to you?” Morgan asked as Nicole stayed on the spot where she fell.

“I woke up, dazed and confused, not knowing where I was and tripped.” She said, deciding to leave the part out where she woke up in a very compromising position. She grunted softly as pain still continued to shoot up her back.

Rick went to extend a helping hand which she gratefully accepted. He pulled her on her feet and she thanked him, trying to hide that fact that she had bonded with him. She decided that while on the floor, there was no other explanation for what happened this morning.

She wasn’t feeling romantic feelings for him, ‘No way!’, but they had escaped that hospital together. He had her back and she had his. He was like a father figure to her, now that her real father was dead. She sighed and looked at the rays of sunshine that were trickling in from the curtains over the windows. “Well, today seems like a good day to bury my dad.” Nicole said as she walked to the door to look out of the peephole. “You're still going to help me, right Rick?” She turned and asked Rick.

“Of course, Nicole.” He turned to Morgan and Duane, who nodded as if already knowing what he was asking them.

“Let me get the hammer and bat so we can go out there.” Morgan said as he disappeared deeper into the house. Nicole took a deep breath and looked back at the door, wondering if she was as lost as she felt or if these small rays of early morning sunshine would grow into better and brighter days for both her and Rick. All she could do was wonder.

Notes

Chapter 3!!
Our stars have met Morgan and Duane!!!
They have learned all that they have missed while conked out in the hospital!!!
They earned new friends and new hope!!!
Feedback appreciated!!
I love you all!!!!
~Intulo Star