Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Winter. The first snow was here. It had been a few days. Snowflakes were falling down. Snow was everywhere. The roofs of the abandoned houses were white, covering the green grass that had began to grow all over the houses, and so were the streets. The forest was even colder. Shivering. The meeting place was only a few miles away, but they didn’t make it in time. They were in the middle of nowhere, in the heart of the forest, trembling. They were holding each other’s hands, knowing what was coming. Breathing heavily, he felt pain in his chest, they should stop for a while. John knelt down on the soft snow and carefully put Chan’s head on a rock.
‘’How are you feeling?’’ John asked.
‘’I’m just fine. You should be worrying about yourself. Just leave me here. I’ll wait until you-‘’
‘’No! No Chan… let’s stay together a little longer…The others will soon be here if we hurry’’ John mumbled with his trembling voice to his friend and partner.
The plan hadn’t worked out. Even if they were close to the meeting point, their encounter with a mysterious man and his daughter had caused them many problems. It was like seeing the Grim Reaper up close, ready to suck the life out of you, let your soul slip into his pointy fingers and take you with him. But the damage wasn’t done by him for his little daughter had shot at them. His chest started hurting even more. John was holding him tightly while pushing hard on his chest with the scarf Chan had gifted him at their first ever mission. The snowflakes multiplied, falling slowly and weightlessly on the ground. A blood drop fell on the snow, making it bright red, spreading around it slowly, more and more. The wound from the arrow was deep and the pain was great. John held him tighter, as his breathing got lighter.
‘’You know…what’s going to happen’’ Chan coughed. ‘’You should leave before it’s too late and I turn on you. I’ll only draw more of them here’’ he continued.
‘’I don’t care! I’ll slaughter them all if I have to! Just hang in there… just…’’ John paused.
‘’Johnny…Look at me…You should save yourself you little bastard…Guess I didn’t raise you well’’ he coughed again, while bleeding more.
‘’I’m not gonna leave you! Y-You’re the only one I have…’’ John said while tearing up.
‘’It’s okay…Everyone dies at some point, especially in this world we live in. Don’t you think I was lucky enough to live for so long? Just make sure not to let our memories fade away..I’ll always be by your side. Just…go…’’ Chan said.
‘’No! Shut up! You’ll be fine! I-I’m not ready yet…I need you…So don’t die on me! Please…’’ John sobbed. ‘’I’m sorry for disappointing you a-and putting you in trouble! Now let’s go back please, they’ll take care of you back in Mayen! Don’t leave like that!’’ John yelled.
‘’I know kid…I know…Johnny, you have grown up well. I finally did something right in my life and I’m proud of you’’ he smiled at John gently. ‘’I’m sorry I couldn’t be there as much I wanted to but… remember that I love you and I’ll always protect you no matter what…’’ he whispered while caressing John’s soft blonde hair and wiping his tears away…leaving his last breath to his little boy that he had taken care of all this time.
‘’Chan? Chan?! Please don’t go! I can’t do this alone! I just can’t-‘’ he cried out.
No one could hear him or listen to his desperate voice. He kept shaking Chan, but nothing, just emptiness. He was mourning his dear friend under the beautiful blue sky. His pale skin and light-colored hair were blending in with the snow. He caressed Chan’s cheek and brushed his silky black hair. He firmly placed a coat on him and wrapped him up with his red scarf, like Chan once did. Snowflakes are falling down. It’s really cold.
‘’I love you too big brother’’ John said while pointing his gun at Chan’s head.

Chapter Text

He ran inside the cabin in the woods and blocked the door with everything he could find. He was soaking wet from the heavy rain and his shirt was dirty from the mud. Blood was dripping from his right hand, but it didn't seem like a serious wound. He made a few steps towards the bed with his back still facing her. She was wearing a white dress and she was hugging her legs tightly, close to her chest.
''You said it would be the last time'', she whispered to him. He turned back surprised that she was already awake.
''I say lots of things lately...'' he tried to comfort her in the worst way possible.
''You're bleeding''.
''It's just a scratch, those motherfuckers couldn't even get near me''. She stared at him in silence. After a while, he approached her and passed his knife to her.
''It's time kiddo...''.
''I figured... That's why you keep lying. You keep leaving the cabin every night to hunt them''.
''They know. They know where I am. So I have to go. You just stay here and they'll come get you but don't worry, they won't hurt you-''.
''You don't know that'' she interrupted him.
''We're not gonna discuss this now. I told you-''.
''I know...'' she interrupted him again. ''I'm ready''. He sighed and walked towards the counter. He grabbed a piece of paper and signed it.
''Don't miss me. Don't ever look for me, so... just keep this'' he said full of pride.
''You're being ridiculous as always Tommy'' she answered him quietly.
''My traces will lead to the cabin, sooner or later they'll be here. Be careful and don't cause trouble. Don't test them'' he said worried. ''There's a new guy leading so he should be easy to take down, but if things go wrong, use the dead or the rain'' he continued. She stood up and approached him. She touched his shoulder gently and looked at his eyes for the last time before he disappeared once and for all.
''I'm sorry for your loss''.
''I'm still alive brat, I'm still here. And I will be watching you from afar, but if you dare approach me or even look for me...'' he paused to catch his breath and touched his beard. ''...I will plant a bullet right here'' he said while pointing at her forehead.
''Goodbye Tommy'' she whispered to him, trying not to shed a tear in front of him.
''Goodbye kiddo'' he said and smiled at her. Then he grabbed his backpack and a bunch of canned food and left from the back door, locking the door behind him.
She saw the signed paper on the counter next to some chocolate bar with an old packaging. ''Don't die Jodie~ -Tommy Jones- ''. She laughed at his messy handwriting and a tear slipped down her cheek. She folded the small paper about 4 times and hid it inside her robe and silently said ''Don't die either you bastard''. She went to the bathroom and opened the cabinet. His pills were missing, so did his razor. He seemed so attached to it even though he never really used it. He kept his beard kind of long and his dark hair short. He had blue ocean eyes, that turned black every night in the sight of his sins. He was tall and lean, a bit muscular maybe, she always found it hard to fight him back at the training camp in winter. They had been many times separated before, during tests, but this time it was different. This time it felt too real. Even now he treated her coldly, no strings attached. She took two pills and headed back to bed. She lied down with the knife in her hands and tried to get some sleep. That night was really long, and the cabin too cold for one to handle. It was lonely after a really long time.
Outside it was really dark and it still hadn't stopped raining. You could even get shivers from the thunders and the creepy voices of the living dead screaming while patrolling in the woods. They were walking slowly, dragging themselves in the muddy forest, lurking for food to fill their skinny bodies with. Their clothes were ripped, their flesh reeking of stench, the same one with a dead animal locked in a box for days, maybe months. Blood was dripping from their dead bodies, dark red like wine. There were no animals around besides a bunch of crows sitting on the branches of the old trees above the walking dead. It was so foggy you could barely see them, lurking in the shadows, expecting their next meal.
''UH! You motherfucking piece of-'' someone screamed.
''What happened?'' Will turned around looking for the hurt person.
''Nothing. I just got a bit scratched from this shit'', Teddy reassured him.
''Just stick to the plan and then let's get out of here!'' Will answered back.
''How do we even know he's gonna be there? We've walked so far, I doubt we'll even be able to find the car in this shithole'' Teddy complained.
''He will be there. I just know...He has to be...''.
''Will, not to be that person but we shouldn't have split up, or at least you shouldn't have left me with these two assholes, now I’m probably dead meat already!'' Teddy kept complaining.
''Wow, thanks Ted. Way to go at me and Ross'' Jack said.
''You're welcome man. You ain't gonna make it home either way'' Teddy got angry.
''You looking for a fight?'' Jack said even angrier than before.
''You think I'm scared of you girls? I should have stayed back at the car with Jake and Malik, I don't know why I tagged along with two sons of bitches and dumbass'' Teddy said all heated.
''Just shut the fuck up and follow-''.
''UHHHHHHH!!''
''ROSS!'' Jack yelled.
''Holy fuck-'' Teddy whispered.
A walker had bit his neck from behind and was now trying to drag him into the mud, in order to continue his feast. Ross's blood was dripping down like a fountain with drops falling even from his brown eyes. The walker kept biting harder and harder while trying to rip his chest apart. Ross kept screaming while touching his own blood still in disbelief of what was happening. Jack ran towards him and tried to push the walker away but then two more started coming from the bushes. A young looking walker was crawling towards Jack's leg and bit him. Jack screamed loudly in pain and started kicking the girl walker's head 'till it was completely crashed. Then the other two walkers grabbed his arms and started biting him leaving a wide pool of blood to be created around them. They both fell down and Teddy tried to get close to them but Will pulled him away. It was too late. As the rain kept washing the blood down, more walkers were coming their way. Teddy froze while looking at his friends' corpses which were gradually coming back to life as one of those hideous monsters. Will shook him and grabbed his hand.
''THERE! There's the cabin!'' Will yelled at Teddy.
''NO! NO WILL! Shit, I don't wanna go to no cabin, JUST tell Jake and Malik to start moving!!'' Teddy shouted back at him.
''THEY WILL FIND US DON'T WORRY!! We're so close to him! We finally found him!'',
''YOU'RE FUCKING CRAZY!!'' Teddy went mental.
''WE'RE LITERALLY HERE! HE'S IN THERE! And their deaths can't be for nothing'' Will tried to reason with Teddy.
''You're crazy man'' Teddy said while running along with Will. They reached the cabin and tried to open the door but it was locked.
''FUCK! DAMMIT!! TRY PUSHING IT MORE!'', ''I'M TRYING WILL!! I'M TRYING !!'' Teddy said while trying to catch his breath. Soon more of the walkers started to appear, surrounding the small cabin which was wet from the rain, when suddenly-
Jodie heard a really loud scream outside and woke up immediately. She started looking around for her knife and got out of the bed in a hurry. She peeked outside from a small hole of the window and saw a ward of walkers attacking a group of young men. They seemed to be in trouble since two of them were being under attack. She quickly moved away from the window and barricaded the door with even more things. Suddenly she heard a couple of gunshots. She shut her ears with her hands and sat down in the middle of the cabin. Someone was bumping on the door, someone was trying to get inside or maybe some people because it didn't sound like just one. She stood up and got close to the door. She kneeled behind it, prayed and pulled her knife out.
''One of you fucking idiots forgot his walkie-talkie on''.
''MALIK!!'' Teddy yelled.
''No time for hugs, help me with this fucking door before more of them come!'' Will screamed.
''What about Ross and ...'' Malik noticed two of the walkers' corpses. It was his friends. Friends he ate with, slept with and had fun with every day since they met. ''Fuck…Will...''.
''There's no time. He's in here!'' Will said while wiping some mud and blood off of his face.
''I told them they'd die today''.
''Shut up Teddy'' Malik said and started pushing the door next to Will. Suddenly the door opened and they both got in fast and shut it. They started putting furniture behind it until they noticed her. A girl in a white dress waving a knife at them. She was standing in the middle of the room and her hands were shaking. Sweat was dripping from her forehead and she was barefoot.
''Woo... I'll handle it...'' Teddy said while trying to approach the girl. ''Hey where's your dad?'' Teddy asked the girl. She just held the knife more tightly trying to threaten him and make them stay away.
''Listen we just want to talk to your dad. Nothing else. So where is he?'' Teddy said without getting any answers. Will was staring at her up and down. She looked tiny and scared. He kept wondering how she could be there all alone with all the dead wandering around in the woods. Even they had serious problems with them and this mere human was casually living there, in the middle of nowhere?
''I just want to talk to the man'' Will said calmly. ''Would you let us have some time with him?'' he said kindly. He still didn't get any answer either. They were just staring at each other.
''But this isn't getting us anywhere now is it?'' Malik said irritated.
''Just accept that he's not here. Let's just call Jake to come get us out of here already. I'm getting the creeps from this’’ Teddy said.
''No'', Will replied. ''If she doesn't wanna do it this way then...Malik''.
''What?''.
''Grab her. We're getting out of here''.
''WHAT'' Teddy yelled surprised.
''Stop talking, I'm tired of this. I'll make her talk somehow back at the community c'mon. Jake get over here we're leaving'' Will said while turning the walkie-talkie on. Jodie tried to resist but Malik and Teddy tied her up and forced her into some black car Jake was driving. While they were driving away, she kept looking back at the cabin as it was disappearing slowly into the fog. Another tear dropped off her face but she just wiped it off, closed her eyes and tried to get some more sleep on the drive.

Chapter Text

The clock was ticking and ticking, you could feel every second passing in that room. It was white and had a table and a couple of chairs in the middle. It reminded her of a police station, but she knew well that these things had stopped existing a long time ago. It was probably something similar. The room was really cold even though there were no windows. Suddenly she heard the lock on the door and then a young man in his twenties, probably, walked in. He dragged one of the chairs and sat down with a bunch of papers in his hands. She remembered that guy from the day before, one of the survivors. She tried shaking his hand but she realized that she was handcuffed and her hands hurt a lot. The young guy smiled at the sight. She felt pain in her face, so she softly touched her cheek and immediately flinched. She had a big purple bruise under her right eye. She rubbed her eye and then she left her arms hanging.
''Don't worry about it, it will be gone before you know it'' Will said. ''So now tell me, where is he?'' he asked her without getting any reply. ''Where are you from?'' Will asked. She started looking around the room, ignoring Will as obviously as she could. ''Where is Tommy?'' he asked again. Jodie looked at him and then looked at her handcuffs. She looked at him again without saying anything which made Will angry. ''I don't have all day, just tell me where the fuck the old man is!'' Will raised his voice. Jodie looked down at the table and then started laughing.
''I don't know him'' she told Will.
''I don't believe you. We have proof that he was living in that cabin, we go there, lose some of our people and find you sleeping as if nothing's happening and-''
Jodie interrupts him: ''I don't care about your people. I don't care about who you're looking for either''.
''Alright then maybe we should have left you in that cabin, with your hands trembling so much you could barely hold that knife'' Will said.
''I never asked for help, so take these off, I'm going back''.
-''You're not going anywhere until you tell me where he is. He's a wanted man and very dangerous for our community so we have to take him down'' Will said.
-''I said I don't care. I want out of this''.
-''Why were you with him?'' Will asked.
-''...''
-''How close are you?'' Will asked again without any answer once again. He stood up and slammed the table. He made eye contact with Jodie one last time and then rushed out of the room, locking the door behind him.
He went into Malik's office and grabbed a cup of coffee. ''Tough day?'' Malik said trying to break the ice.
''Fucking annoying. I hate them, all of them'' Will murmured.
''Who? Why?'' Malik asked him.
''All these damn survivors. You find them in need, you help them, make sure they're safe and then they don't even thank you. They act as if you didn't risk your life for them'' Will said.
''Listen man maybe Tommy escaped before that girl showed up. She was chased by those monsters and ran in the cabin to hide. I don't think she has anything to do with him. Either way they say he has a son, not a daughter or whatever. It should be a boy we're looking for'' Malik explained.
''No no, his son died, so he has no one now. Maybe he helped that girl because she reminded him of his son. I'm sure she knows where he is''.
''Will, I think that you're obsessing over this. Just let it go. Why do you wanna know so much about that old man anyways?'' Malik asked. Will lifted his cup to sip some coffee and then placed it on Malik's desk. He ran his hands through his shiny dark hair and looked at Malik seriously.
''I just have to. I have unfinished business with that man... and I can't wait any longer. Yeah I made my decision''.
The clock kept ticking and ticking. The time was passing painfully slowly in that small room. Jodie kept looking around and started rocking her feet. There was a round clock on the wall. 15:47. She probably had been tied up in that room since last night when they took her with them. She remembered exactly how she had gotten that bruise. Will was different from the others. He seemed calm and more composed than the others, mysterious, you couldn't tell what he was thinking. Teddy was just dumb and lousy, that's what she thought. And Malik was an airheaded asshole with anger issues even though he painted himself as a peacemaker. As for Jake, he was completely invisible to her, just one of these ''nice'' guys that could probably die any moment, definitely not a main character material. In her eyes Will seemed to be the most interesting one and that made her feel so much hatred towards him. She disliked him a lot. But she did appreciate his help even when she didn't ask for it. When Malik lost control and punched her in the face for not answering his questions, Will punched him back and said that he would take over his place in the interrogation part. ''Quite fluttering'' Jodie thought while looking at the clock ticking.
16:24. Malik rushed through the door and slammed it. He grabbed the chair Will was sitting on a while ago and sat close to Jodie. Then he whispered: ''Listen, I don't give a fuck about what your deal is. I don't give a fuck even if you drop dead in this damn room. I know you ain't shit so don't act all great. I don't give a shit about the old man either, but I am Will's pal and if you start being a pain in the ass...'' Malik ran his finger across his throat and continued: ''I will kill you and say it was an accident''.
Jodie smiled and leaned close to him: ''That bruise looks hella hot on you, you should get those more often you big-headed piece of shit'' she said and leaned backwards.
''Keep talking and I'll give you one under your other eye too'' Malik threatened her. At that moment Will entered the room and told Malik to move away from his seat. Malik stood up, looked at Jodie and then walked out of the room. Will sat down and leaned forward to Jodie.
''I made up my mind. Since you won't make this easy for us all, we're gonna move you away from here. You will be staying at house number 24. Both Malik and the others agreed in one-''
Jodie interrupted him: ''I'm free and I choose to leave this damn utopia of yours. I have no interest in communities or making relationships with any of you. So get these off and let me out of here big boy''.
Will took a deep breath and continued: '' You will be staying in house 24, next to the wall, away from our people, until you tell me everything you know about your cute little acquaintance’’.
''I told you already. I don't know where he is'' she said.
''Anyways, time's up''. Will stood up and hit the door four times. Three men got in including Malik and dragged Jodie out of the room. Will followed them outside and accompanied her to the house 24.
When they arrived, Malik gave Will a pair of keys and then gave Jodie a wild look. ''Go on'' Will urged him to take off her handcuffs. Jodie attempted to run but Malik quickly grabbed her arm and brought her back.
''Behave yourself, unless you wanna go back to wearing handcuffs you...uhm...'' Will stopped talking and touched his chin. He started looking at the sky as if he was trying to remember something really badly. Disappointed in himself for not remembering, he sighed and approached her. ''What do we call you?'' he asked her while leaning down.
''Nothing'' she answered while moving away.
''Okay then how about brat?'' Will smirked. Brat. ''How about kiddo?''. Kiddo. She knows these names too well. Her lovely Tommy used to call her those all the time, but now he was gone somewhere far away probably, away from everyone including her.
''Joe'' Jodie murmured.
''Aha Joe it is then, let's go'' Will urged her to unlock the door with his keys.
''Sure once you leave'' she said.
''Well, that's the neat part. I don't'' Will laughed.
''What?'' Joe said confused.
''I promised the council to keep you in that house until you confess, so I will be there to guard you''.
''I don't need a bodyguard or a dog'' she said irritated.
''Sorry but you don't make the rules here. So if you wanna get rid of me fast, you have to confess quickly. That's unless you want me to be around of course'' Will smiled.
''What the hell is wrong with you?'' she said.
''Many things'' Will answered. ''Now let's move on roommie!'', Joe got startled.
''What do you mean roommie? Didn't you say you'd be a guard or sumn?'' she asked.
''Well yeah, I will but this is my house so we will be roommates!'' he said excited. ''But don't get any funny ideas, if you try to escape, I won't stop Malik next time''.
Joe grabbed him by his collar angrily and then whispered: ''One day I will kill Malik and you won't know where it came from''. Will looked surprised but he immediately snapped out of it and pushed her forward to go unlock the door.
The house seemed new and it had a lot of space. Entering the house there was the kitchen in the right and a cozy living room on the left. There was this lavender aroma in the air which meant that the house was actually really clean too. Will must have done really good work to maintain it she thought. Will then showed her the staircase that led to two bedrooms, which both had their own bathrooms. They were a bit small but very convenient. Will showed Joe her room and then on the other side there was his. Will said that he usually worked every day for the community so he wouldn't be there from the morning till the afternoon, so he would lock the doors and the windows every time he'd leave the house to keep her inside. He also said that he felt pity for her so he would train her when he'd get the chance to and teach her how to shoot a gun. He always showed off that he was the best shot in the whole community, that he was a specialist. He trained everyday with Teddy after work and sometimes he would run errands outside the walls too. Joe hadn't seen any of the people of the community besides Will, Teddy, Malik and Jake, as well as the guys that dragged her in that house, but she had certainly seen the walls around the community. Teddy was almost every day in the house hanging out with Will and she would stay in her room until he'd leave. But that didn't mean she liked Will either, she tried to walk around the house only when he was out or when he'd be in his room. He was spending a lot of time alone too because it seemed that he only really had Teddy by his side. No family, no friends, no girlfriends. He is a mystery indeed. Sometimes she'd catch him staring outside the window. He looked melancholic as much as he tried to hide it. The spring breeze would pamper his shiny, soft hair which looked lighter than black under the sun. He sometimes got rosy cheeks because of the heat and his eyes were always shining when he was looking at the sunset. He spent so much time staring at his window, the sunset's and his colors seemed to mix in his eyes. She wondered if he knew how admirable he could actually seem.
Joe spent most of her time in her room, reading books, drawing and watching the same movies that the community provided over and over again. Sometimes she would try to leave the house, but Will and Teddy would stop her. She had no idea how sad she looked too. Her soft curls touched softly her cheeks and her hazel eyes changed colors at the sight of the sunset or the night sky. They both looked at the stars at night, each one from their own window. They would fight all day and then get locked in their rooms.

Chapter Text

Days passed and Joe started hating that room more than anything. Maybe even more than Will. It reminded her of when Tommy used to keep her locked in any place they'd find when they were wandering around together. Apparently, a lot of people didn't like him and he was known in many communities. He was never accepted in any of them because he used to be a criminal before the apocalypse happened. It is said that he had murdered someone but no one knew the reason why. He always lived alone away from communities and people. He moved a lot, mostly in the woods. He never stayed in one place, because someone could eventually track him down. People also said that he had committed vicious crimes after the apocalypse too when he was part of a community long ago. And yet a monster like him was saved by a young girl- couldn't be older than 15 years old. He was surrounded and shot in his shoulder when that girl shot all three men down. When he pointed his gun at her, the girl collapsed. After giving it a thought, he decided to take her in and train her as one of his own. Tommy would always take her with him when they were moving around and he used to lock the doors when he wasn't around. Sometimes he wouldn't come back for days, the so-called ''tests''. But things were different now. She was tired of playing dumb so she decided to try and break out of the house, maybe seriously this time.
Will was at work as usual, so that was her only chance. She slightly opened the door and checked out Will's room. The door was slightly open, so she exited her room and quickly slid into his room. His room was messy and his windows were shut. It was really dark and you could see the dust dancing in the air. There was a smell of fresh clothes and laventer. He had washed his clothes but he didn't have enough time to fold them so he had just thrown them on the bed. She started looking for the handcuff keys around the room. She opened his closet, but she found nothing but clothes and a few guns. Then she searched some of his clothes and his small desk at the corner of the room. Still nothing. The keys were nowhere to be found. He probably had them with him. Without losing hope, she opened the drawers and started looking through his clothes. There she found a small piece of paper under his shirts. She unfolded it and got surprised. She knew that hand-writing. That arrogance. Big-headed. Tommy. It was something like an autograph. Just his signature and nothing else. Next to it there were the keys. She grabbed them, folded the paper again and closed the drawer. She leaned against the closet for a while and covered her mouth with her hand. Somehow that person knew him. It was probably one of the hundreds of people that wanted him dead. She approached his desk again, searched the drawers. Another one. ''Winter 2015''. It was a picture of Tommy and a young boy in the snow. ''Maybe he did have a son. No.'' she thought. ''Tommy didn't have any family. No relationships, no attachments. Just...Brats...One who passed away and me...'' she thought. ''Maybe Will's trying to get both me and Tommy. Then his ''son'' didn't really die of an accident...'' Joe said. She shoved the small picture in her pocket and closed the drawers.
She dashed to her room and pulled out of her pocket one of the hammers she found in Will's closet. She broke the window and removed the handcuffs. She hung from the window and then softly placed her legs on the roof of the first floor. Then she climbed down the pipe and walked towards the walls. They were a little shorter than the house and were painted dark blue. She moved the trash can close to the wall and placed a box on it. Then she climbed up on it and jumped on the other side. She was finally free. She started running as fast as she could, trying to remember the way back to the cabin or literally anywhere but there.
As she ran she kept thinking about the picture and that paper she had found. ''What if Tommy was in danger?'' she kept thinking. Maybe Will was the one that had killed Tommy's ''son''. That was the only way that he would get his hands on that signature and picture and now he was after Tommy and eventually her. Snow. It was definitely the other boy she had heard about from him. His ''son'' that he was protecting. If there was snow that was the abandoned house in some forest they had stayed in, in another city. In winter Tommy would move there with Joe for winter training. He would even leave her alone for a while there to hunt and learn how to handle bows and arrows. In the freezing cold you could barely see anything, let alone the walkers. It was a special place not only because of the training but also because it was there when she took his last name. ''You'll forget your name from now on. I'll call you Jodie. Jodie Jones. You know Jones is my last name. That connects us no matter where you are, so there will be no need for us to meet further in the future’’. ‘’That's what he had said...'' she thought.
She was getting closer and closer to the cabin until she heard a loud sound coming from the bushes. She stayed down and waited for a walker to show up. But it was Will. He was going to the cabin again. She decided to stay down and follow him quietly and see for herself whether she was right or wrong. Will had a backpack full of supplies on his back and was talking to someone on his walkie-talkie. He walked towards the cabin and then suddenly a big chord of walkers started walking out of it. Will tried to kill as many as he could so that he could go in to look around, when one them grabbed his arm.
''Come help me and stop fooling around!'' Will yelled. He had noticed Joe following him so he asked for help.
''I said I know you- a..are there'', he said while trying to free his arm.
''Sorry I don't know how to fight'', Joe said. Will shot the walker's head and freed himself. Now walkers started going towards all directions moving closer to Joe too. She stood up and went close to Will. ''I knew you'd like me eventually'' Will said. Suddenly another walker grabbed his backpack and started pulling him towards his open mouth. He started asking for help from Joe who was still standing close to him.
''PLEASE!'' he yelled.
''Fucking idiot'', Joe murmured and threw a knife at the walker's face leading him to fall down. She pulled her knife out and pushed Will out of the way. Another walker stood in front of her stretching his arms to grab her, but she stabbed him under his chin and then pulled the knife out and stabbed him again on the top of his head. More walkers kept coming and she was killing as many as she could just with her knife. Will unfroze and started helping her. When there were no walkers left she turned her knife against Will's neck.
''Who the hell are you?'' she asked him while holding her knife close to him.
''Who are you? You're not from around here that's for sure, your accent is weird'' he said.
''I said who are you?'' she asked again, pushing the knife even closer to his skin.
''I'm just a guy! A guy that lives in a community!'' Will yelled.
''I know what you did. You were the one that killed him! And now you're after us too'' she said and pulled out the picture of Tommy and the little boy. Will was too stunned to speak at the sight of the picture. He was left with his jaw hanging, still not able to process what had just happened. He gently pulled the photo out of Joe's hands.
''Plural? You do know him…'' he said while backing away.
''Just answer my question before I kill you here and now!'' Joe yelled at him.
''You can't kill me. Neither you, nor a bit of acting'' Will answered coldly. ''How did you find this? How did you leave the house? The walls?'' he kept asking.

Chapter Text

The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. The breeze felt refreshing on their faces. Healing almost. The stench of the walkers' rotten flesh was strong under the sun. More of them started to appear. Will grabbed Joe's hand and led her into the cabin they had once met for the first time that cold and rainy night. Ross and Jack's bodies were probably still somewhere out there. Probably wandering among other walkers.
They got into the cabin and sat down on the floor. Will sat next to Joe but she moved away from him. She didn't trust him. She didn't believe any of his words. Will started playing with his knife and then looked at Joe. They made eye contact for a while and then she looked down.
''I should have kept the keys on me'' Will said. ''It wouldn't have caused me trouble''. Joe kept looking down without saying anything. She pulled out her knife and touched the edge of it. ''How long have you been lying about being someone else?'' Will asked.
''None of your business'' Joe replied without taking her eyes off of her knife.
''Looks like we'll be spending some time here together ‘till it gets clear so don't keep the attitude up. It's tiring''.
''Why do you wanna kill Tommy?'' Joe murmured. Will stood up and started strolling around aimlessly. He looked out of the window and ran his hand through his hair.
''How do you know Tommy?'' he ignored her question.
A few hours passed and none of them said or asked anything. They avoided looking at each other and sat away from each other too. Will kept checking his watch and strolling towards the window every now and then to see if the walkers had moved on. Eventually, he sat down again to take a break. He gave a look at Joe from head to toes and then softly said: '' It was me...''. Joe lifted her head up and looked at him. ''It was me in the picture''. She sat closer to him.
''Why do you want to kill Tommy?'' she asked him again, seeing how he started opening up since he had no choice but to do something about the situation.
''It's not like that'' he sighed. ''It's more complicated than you think''.
''Are you...?''.
''No no, he doesn't have a son. Not a dead son certainly. I'm a different kind of ''son'' he said while making a gesture to show that he was speaking metaphorically. She tried not to show how surprised she was after hearing what Will was saying. If not an actual son but still referring to himself as a ''son'', she must have been wrong all along. Maybe he was the boy Tommy had taken with him. He wasn't dead but alive and well. ‘’Why?’’, she thought.
''How do you know him anyway?'' Will asked, looking really curious. Will moved away from Joe without breaking the intense eye contact.
''I know about you Will, I've heard of you, but I thought I'd be more impressed of your skills'' she said. Will looked away and after a while he looked back at Joe.
''What's your last name?'' she asked. Will immediately realized where this was going. He stood up and grabbed his walkie talkie. At that moment, Joe drew her knife on him but he managed to grab her hand. He pressed a button and asked Teddy for help, to come pick him up. He then turned it off and let go of her arm while staring at her.
''You're not that impressive yourself'' he said. ''C'mon. Let's get out of here'' he said after checking outside the window one last time making sure it's safe to go.
By the time they were back at the house, it had already gotten really dark. Teddy dropped them off and hugged Will before leaving, telling him to be careful. When they got inside, Joe rushed to her room without letting Will say a word to her. She went up the stairs and slammed the door. She stood behind her door to catch her breath for a while, thinking about what had happened. She took her hoodie off and wore a plain t-shirt. When she went to the bathroom to turn the tap on to have a bath, she heard knocking on her door. At first she ignored the knocking because she didn't want to see or speak to Will but when the knocking kept on going, she opened the door. Suddenly Will rushed in. He was wearing an old cropped t-shirt from some band and was showered by the moonlight. His hair was wet and looked soft. He had already taken a shower. He approached Joe until her back touched the wall and said: ''Jones. My name is Will Jones''. Then he backed away and left the room quietly.

Chapter Text

The moon was so beautiful that night. The moonlight was coming through the window, making her dark waves shine. She was lying on the bed, looking at the ceiling. She had her headphones on and was listening to music. It was chilly outside but not that cold. A strange night at the same time. She pulled the covers of the bed to her head and closed her eyes. Let her soul become one with the melody. She thought of her family. How she had lost everyone she cared for. Sometimes she still had nightmares of her mother telling her to be strong and pull the trigger and put her out of her misery. Those dark nights she would wake up in sweat, stressed, sometimes crying because of the intensity of the dreams. Sometimes she was scared, sometimes she would see her mom holding her younger sister's hand or kissing her big bite mark on her neck, with the blood dripping down her arm and chest. The dreams felt so real it was scary, as if it would bring them all back to life. She had to get him. That was the only way. The only way to break free from these restless nights and these intense nightmares. The only way she could forget all her guilt and be forgiven by her family. Feel alive for a reason. And her reason was to find the man that started this, back to their old community, the night everything happened...when the fight happened between him and her dad, whose poor throat was slit in front of his family over some food. Whose young son didn't manage to run away and got shot at the spot. Whose wife and younger daughter lost their lives soon after they had escaped. Whose oldest daughter had to play the role of the grim reaper and take her dear mother's life before it was too late. He had to pay for making her witness everything. He had to pay for the guilt and the weight she was carrying all these years.
Tears started falling down her cheeks. She covered her mouth and tried not to let out a scream. A silent scream, that couldn't save her. She hugged her pillow and caressed the cloth. The soft breeze took some hair out of her face and dried her tears quickly. She had to wash the blood off her hands by dirtying them in blood even more. But it was okay. She didn't mind being the bad one in this side of the story. She removed her headphones and got up. She stood by the window and turned her hand into a fist. She enjoyed the view for a while and suddenly she noticed Will approaching the house alone this time. Teddy wasn't with him. Maybe they had fought again over some stupid thing like they always do. He looked sadder than usual. Who knows really...She quickly wiped her tears and fixed her t-shirt and hair.
Will was wearing his casual clothes because he wasn't on patrol today or outside the walls , it seems. He kept looking down as if something was troubling him. ''It's been two weeks and the guys don't know what we should do. We can't trust her like that'', he thought of Teddy's words. They couldn't trust an outsider like that but he couldn't let go that easily either. Especially after what happened the previous night. He had revealed his name like that and he knew that now she would know about his relationship with Tommy even though she said nothing about it. He opened the door and entered the house. He saw her sitting on the couch looking at him as if she had been waiting for him to come like a puppy waits for his owner to come back for it and have fun together. ''You're still up'' he said coldly.
''You're late'' she said to him.
''So what's up'' she tried to break the ice.
''Not much. I guess you will be free after all sooner or later'' he said in a disappointed voice.
''Nice!'' she jumped up.
''You're that happy to go back there? In hell?''
''Hell is everywhere. Who says it's worse out there than it's in here. I spent these couple of weeks in this house and-'' he interrupted her.
''You still got out to the woods''.
''It's not the same''.
''Why do you even like it that much out there?'' he asked confused.
''Cause that's how I've been living so far. Out there with my guardian''.
''Your dad? A friend?'' he asked.
''A friend. A friend that helped me'' she said.
''Anyways I talked to Teddy. The leader doesn't want you here ‘cause they don't trust you''.
''Thought you'd be happy. I don't care about them either''.
''I'm not happy ‘cause I found what I was looking for''.
''Keep that to yourself. I don't know what you're talking about''.
''Stop playing dumb. There's no friend. There's no ''guardian''. It was you and Tommy''.
''You're just obsessed with him'' she said. Will slid his hand in his pocket and took out a note.
''

That's your last name too. Isn't it?''. She took a step forward and snatched the paper off his hand.
''You searched my things?'' she said angrily.
''Says you'' he answered calmly.
''I told you it's none of your business''.
''It is my business from now on''.
''You're delusional. What are you talking about?''.
''We're sticking together from now on Joe''.
''What are you-'', Will ran his hand through his hair and revealed a small scar on the right side of his forehead. Joe got close to him and touched the scar.
''Winter training. Abandoned house'' he said. ''You shot a bow at me in the bushes'' he continued.
''I thought- Why were you there?'' she asked confused.
''I was there with Tommy. I used to follow him around when I was done with my training and that was when I found out that he was protecting someone else other than me too. At first I thought that this was the reason why he would do these weird ''tests'' and leave me alone for some time in the woods, during cold winter. That he lied to me to be with you and I hated him for that. So one day I followed him because I wanted to kill you. That was the plan but when I saw you, I just couldn't do anything. My body froze and then you looked at my way and shot the arrow right next to me. I barely dodged that and then I never saw you again ‘cause you disappeared when I looked again'' he explained.
''Tommy said his ''son had died during an accident... I don't understand'' she said.
''Unlike you, I've been doing this alone thing for a longer time''.
''Yeah...Then why do you want Tommy?'' she asked out of curiosity.
''I want to talk to him. Just that. But the guys think I wanna kill him for the sake of the community. I couldn't care less about his private life or his past. I just need a couple of minutes''.
''I see...’’ she added.
''I know dummy'' he replied. ''I don't want to make you leave, I wanna join you''.
''That's not happening''.
''Give the community a chance. I know how to convince them''.
''Really?'' she said sarcastically. ''And how's that gonna happen?''.
''We need more help with something. We're gonna attack some community that has been a problem lately according to the new leader'' he stated. ''We're gonna blow them up, create a bit of chaos and the walkers can clear the rest''.
''I'm not assisting you with that. I won't kill people I don't know, that haven't done anything to me just to prove a point to someone I don't care about''.
''You sure? It's Mayen. The place...''.
''Tommy was in...'' she completed his sentence. ''They want him dead...''
''Exactly, and not just him. They're looking for me too. That's why the rumors of my accident are around''.
''So you want me to save you?''.
''What about Tommy?''.
''I don't care. Our paths have parted once and for all''.
''You care but I can't tell you why''.
''I don't''.
''You really think that Tommy had such a big heart that got under his wing a random lil girl he found in the woods?''.
''What do you mean? I saved him''.
''You may think that but you have more things in common with him actually''.
''What are you talking about?'' she asked.
''Tommy was in Mayen once, until they kicked him out. Mayen was later reorganized under the name ''Mayday''. Does it ring any bells?''. She knew that name. Her eyes started feeling wet. She tried to breathe and keep her tears from falling down. She rushed to Will and grabbed him by the shirt.
''How do you know about this?!'' she yelled.
''Let go of me. I told you, you weren't a random charity program''. His words were so cruel. They pierced through her heart. So careless. He was really careless. She eventually let go of him and backed away.
''He's still there Joe. He's alive'' he told her.
''Shut up! You don't know anything''.
''I know actually. I know what happened ‘cause Tommy told me. Tommy saw what happened''.
''He...Liar. He's a liar. That scum...'' she murmured. She couldn't hold it any longer. Tears started falling down her cheeks. Will approached her to give her a hug but she pushed him away.
''I'm sorry. I'll do it. I'll do it if you tell me to'' he said in a soft, caring voice.
''No!'' she yelled at him. ''Don't take that away from me. Don't you dare. Please...'' she said.
''I don't know if he'll be there but we plan to blow the place up. If you wanna join us, tell me tomorrow morning and let's go to the leader's office. Think about it for now. You'll have a place in here either way. I'll fight for it'' he comforted her.
''You don't have to'' she said.
''I thought I told you already. I'll have your back from now on, so go get some rest''.
The next morning the sun shined once again over the half-destroyed city. Young people were already patrolling around the walls since early in the morning. She woke up with her wavy hair in a messy bun. She went and stood again near the window. She looked outside at her left and saw Will also looking out of his window. They made eye contact for a while but she broke it and got inside fast. She felt her cheeks getting warm and red like the blood she used to encounter every day. She touched her cheeks and then her forehead. What was going on in her head. She felt confused.
Will smiled and lit his cigarette. The sun was making his slightly tanned skin shine and the cool air made his dark hair bounce like crazy. He got inside and closed the window. He took a change of clothes and went to take a shower and get ready. Joe had already gotten ready so she went downstairs and ate her breakfast in the kitchen. Soon Will arrived too, smelling like flowers. Joe had never experienced this ever before. Tommy didn't smell at all and if he did it definitely wasn't pleasant, but Will smelled nice. It was almost infuriating. He got some hair out of his face and drank some coffee. Then he looked at Joe and asked: ''Are you ready?''. Joe thought about it for a while and then answered: ''Let's do this''.
On their way to the office they came across many people. Some of them greeted Will while others just ignored him. Some of them gave them a smile and others just weird stares. Will softly tapped on Joe's shoulder and adviced her to smile back at the people that waved at them. What a weird feeling. It had been such a long time since she was living like this. Waving at people and smiling at strangers. That was long ago, before the fall. Just before they entered the office in a small house on the other side of the walls, Teddy approached them along with a girl. She was taller than Joe with blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was stunning in Joe's eyes. She smiled at them and then grabbed Will's hand asking him how his day was. Joe felt disgusted while looking at them. She looked so happy and very comfortable around him. She was very touchy with him too, as if...
''Hey are you listening?'' Will asked.
''Yeah'' she said.
''This is Lisa. She's Teddy's cousin and a good friend of mine'' he introduced her. Of course she thought. Blonde hair like Teddy's. The only difference was that Teddy had brown eyes and he was a bit taller than her. He wore black glasses and he had a nice small nose. Joe felt like she wanted to run away from there and leave everything and everyone behind. She felt her heart beating like it needed to escape away from the chest.
''Nice to meet you Lisa'' she said.
''Nice to meet you too. So you're-''
''I'm going with Teddy!'' Joe interrupted her and grabbed Teddy's arm.
''Wait!'' Will said as he saw her disappear along with Teddy.
''What's up with her?'' Lisa asked Will.
''Something I'm intrigued by'' Will smiled.

Chapter Text

''So tell me Will, why did you gather us here today? And why is she here?'' Malik asked.
''It's about our mission'' Will said. ''You know that they won't leave Barnie like that without the supplies, so I was thinking that we could use some help''.
''Will, I told you. We do it fair and square. We give them the supplies, they give us Barnie''.
''If he's alive till then'' Jake added.
''He will be'' Malik said.
''You know we've been having problems with them for so long. If we keep giving them supplies this will never stop. They'll keep taking people of our own and become greedier with time. We don't have that many supplies for the winter and you know it. Meels said we will barely be able to feed our community, let alone someone else's'' Will explained.
''And that will happen only if plan X fails Will, why would we rush things?'' Malik asked.
''What is plan X?'' Joe asked.
''Boom'' Jake gestured with his hands.
''So what do you propose we do? Go there, kill some of their people and then make them attack us first? We can't do that either''. Malik explained.
''Then let's start preparing for plan X the day after. We can make it. We'll get rid of both the asses that have been threatening us and Shawn. Two birds with one stone''.
''And if that doesn't go well?'' Malik asked.
''We'll die''.
''Wo wo wo, hold on Will, you're trynna convince them, remember?'' Teddy said.
''I don't know man. I say we stick to the first plan. We act nice and blow the motherfuckers up'' Malik said.
''I think we have a shot'' Jake said.
''What do you mean?'' Malik asked.
''Will tell us what you're thinking. What's the real reason you brought the brat along? Isn't she supposed to leave today anyway?'' Jake asked Will.
''That's the thing. She can be useful to us. We can use her as bait or something. That way she will prove her worth and we will have more help-''
''You sound ridiculous! We're grown men and we will do babysitting cause you're saying that we can't take out a couple of men? Are you out of your mind?'' Malik said.
''I won't be no one's bait...but...I can take them out for you'' Joe said.
''What do you mean?''.
''Send me alone with Teddy. We will take them out and the next day we attack the event and blow the building up. They won't even have time to look for trash when they'll be busy dealing with more important things. I can help you for some food and ammo'' Joe suggested.
''Oh you plan to bring all the walkers to join the party. You and the airhead over there''. Malik said pointing at Teddy.
''Hey!'' Teddy yelled.
''Just give us a chance!'' Will tried to convince Malik. Malik looked down at his desk and placed his head on his arms. He thought about it for a bit and then snapped his fingers and pointed at the door next to the desk. Immediately, Jake stood up and opened the door. It was full of guns, shotguns, rifles and combat weapons. Jake handed Teddy a revolver and Joe a 45. Then he looked at them again and said: ''White wheelhouse. 16:30. Just you and Teddy''.
''Let me go with-''.
''No'' Malik interrupted Will. ''You've said enough. Now go back to your nest and stay there like you're supposed to'' he said while giving an angry look at Will.

Chapter Text

At night when they came back home, tired from the chores they were assigned to do by Malik along with the necessary preparations for the big day, Joe rushed to her room only saying a cold goodnight. Will sat on the couch and stared at nothing for a while. He was thinking about the attack. He was a bit nervous about it even though he seemed to trust Joe with it. But why Teddy? That question, that name wouldn't leave him alone. Why would she choose Teddy over him? Someone she barely even knew! What was going on in her mind, he kept wondering.

Joe closed the door to her room and took her hoodie off to prepare to take a shower. She noticed her reflection in the mirror while she was folding her clothes. She felt like she had changed ever since coming to this community. She didn't feel like herself so she had to somehow do something. Something that only the past her would be able to do. Something she was good at and that was killing. She will never forget the time she took someone's life for the first time. It was when she saved Tommy. She did it to save him, that's what she always thought. She had heard stories from other people about their experiences, their first kill. But they were all different from her experience. Most of them described their fear at first, how they were shaking, thinking whether it was right or wrong, but she didn't. She always had that hatred in her, mainly because of the man that took her dad's life. She always felt intense hatred because of the things she had witnessed and she didn't know how to handle it at times. She didn't feel any guilt when her bullets pierced through the men's flesh and left them down on the ground with their chests open, painted in blood. She didn't even flinch. However, if her first ever shot counted, and it would, that would be the worst feeling for her. When she had to pull the trigger for the first time. But on the other side, it was no one else but her own mother. Her dear mom. Her dad's death had destroyed her mentally enough. He was always there to protect them since the beginning of the fall. But now, when she was the one who had to protect herself and her sister from their own mom, things were completely worse. She didn't talk much about it to Tommy. She just told him the story once and never talked about it ever again, as if it had never happened. Maybe that's why she killed so many people easily, without giving a single fuck. When you kill your own mother to stop her from turning, that's the last time you really feel something for someone.

She kissed her mom's necklace and put it under her white t-shirt. She untied her hair and got the brush in her hands when she heard a knock on the door. ''What is it again?'' she thought to herself. ''Come in'' she said. Will entered quietly and closed gently the door behind him.
''Can I have a word with you?'' he said. Joe started brushing her hair nervously.
''No. I'm kinda busy. I have to get some rest'' she said. Will grabbed a chair from her desk and placed it in front of her. He sat her down on the floor and then he sat on the chair, taking the brush from her hands. Joe kept looking at him so he turned her head to the front and started brushing softly her hair. She started feeling warm again, as if her room was catching fire again and no one could save her from that fire that was burning her every time she saw him.

''Don't go'' he said. His voice was really calm and he sounded really tired too. He must have been exhausted after all the things he did for Malik.
''I want to'' she answered.
''You don't have to''.
''I didn't say I have to...''.
''I trust you...but I don't trust Teddy. Let me go with you instead''.
''No, it's settled. We'll be quick. I'll be quick. I won't need Teddy either'' she reassured him.
''Take me with you'' he said again hoping that she would listen to him this time.
''I don't want to go with you. You have more important things to do here''. Will sighed. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't getting anywhere with her. For a while, they remain silent. But it didn't feel awkward, it didn't feel like they had to say something, it felt familiar and comfortable.
''Do you like it?'' he asked.
''Yeah. It calms me down...I feel like I don't have to deal with anything right now'' she said.
''That's good to know. We can do it more often to get closer''. She turned her back immediately and stared up to him. She took the brush from his hands and tried to tie up her hair again. Will took her hands into his and gave her a calm look. There was no other way to describe him. He was calm like the sea early in the morning. You could yell at him and he still wouldn't get mad at you for it, or anything really. He played with her hair and then started to braid it.
''You shouldn't tie it up all the time'' he said. Joe turned to the other side again and rested her face on her right arm.
''She must be lucky'' Joe murmured.
''Who?'' Will asked. Joe realized her tongue slipped and tried to change the topic but failed. Will made eye contact with her and cupped his face with his arms. Then he grinned.
''Don't tell me you mean Lisa'' he said without breaking eye contact. He then stood up and started walking around the room with his hands on his waist. ''I really don't understand you Joe. No matter how hard I try. I'm being a gentleman, you don't care. I'm being the tough guy, you don't care. I'm being myself, you still don't care. I talk to one girl, suddenly I have all your attention on me. Is that what I should do? Chase every girl in this community to get a glimpse of your attention?'' he says while facing the window. She doesn't say anything back for a while. ''Have I not given you a piece of my mind? I like you and I said I'll be here when you need me...'' he said. ''Joe turns her head and looks at him. His dazzling hazel eyes are shining under the moonlight, you can see the moon reflect in his big beautiful eyes. ''I don't care about what you do in your life. That's yours''.
''Hmm maybe I should bring Lisa over if I want to get more words out of you. Words I want to hear and not white lies'' he says and then proceeds to leave the room. When he does, Joe covers her face with her hands and runs to her bed. She places the pillow on her face and fake cries as she feels embarrassed of what just happened.

Will enters his room and takes his shirt off. He walks towards the window and then opens it. He leaves his one hand hanging and rests his face on the other one. ''Hurts'' he mumbles as he's lighting a cigarette.

Chapter Text

The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. It looked like nature was awake , at its prime. The walkers contributed to this harmony for their crippling sounds could be heard from outside the walls. People from the community were taking care of their gardens close to the walls, talking about the beauty of nature and the sunny day.

The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. It looked like nature was awake , at its prime. The walkers contributed to this harmony for their crippling sounds could be heard from outside the walls. People from the community were taking care of their gardens close to the walls, talking about the beauty of nature and the sunny day.

‘’And I will be watching you from afar, but if you dare approach me or even look for me....i will plant a bullet right here. Goodbye kiddo…’’.

Joe stood up suddenly and rubbed her eyes. Another dream about her dear Tommy who she wouldn’t see anymore. She missed him like crazy even though it had been only a few weeks ‘till she last saw him before he disappeared into thin air. She reminisced the past, when she lived by his side, under his wing. The early winter mornings. The dark nights. Their training sessions and the hunting seasons. Even the small things. Everything reminded her of Him. ‘’Oh dear Tommy, I wish that I would see your face once again so that all my worries would disappear’’ she would think after her vivid dreams.
_._
The sharp arrow pierced through the deer’s soft fur and skin while it was running to escape. It sloppily fell down on the snow, staining it with bright red blood. Its breath was still warm, you could see it through the cold. It was struggling to breathe one last time. A little girl appeared on the other side with her bow, dressed in some animal’s fur to keep her warm from the cold. She fixed her hat and slid her bow behind her back. ‘’I GOT IT! I GOT IT! TOMMY! DID YOU SEE ME?’’ she yelled as she ran close to the deer. Her cheeks were rosy because of the cold and her breathing matched the one of the fallen deer.

‘’Well, looks like we’re eating well again tonight!’’ a tall man said.
‘’It took four arrows to bring it down but I did it!’’ the girl said happily.
‘’C’mon now let’s head back home, we may come across some of the dead sons of bitches if we take our time’’ the man said. The snow was falling more and more but the sun was shining through the cold. The man and the girl starting heading back quickly through the same path as before so that they wouldn’t get lost. The man was breathing heavily while carrying the deer.
‘’And then boom! I shot the last arrow and it fell down’’ the girl kept saying.
‘’Woooh there kiddo, this is the 3rd time you’re saying this’’.
‘’I know! I’m just a bit excited since it’s my first deer. You know how the other ones got away. This is my lucky day’’.
‘’Damn sure. I remember when I shot down my first animal. You know how I used to go hunting with my pals before the fall and shit’’ the man explained.
‘’You should talk to me about it more Tommy. You never really tell me about your life before the fall…It’s interesting’’.
‘’Yeah maybe I’ll start sharing more with ‘ya-‘’. A sound came from the bushes next to a big tree.
‘’Walkers?’’ the girl asked concerned.
‘’Might be. Lemme see your bow and arrow’’. The girl pulled her arrow and pointed at the bushes. She slowly moved towards the tree when she finally saw a walker tied up to the tree with his stomach ripped out.
‘’What do I do?’’ the girl asked the man.
‘’Kill it’’ the man whispered. ‘’Let’s not leave any of them alive since we’re close to the area’’ he added. The girl nodded. She aimed for the walker’s head when suddenly another arrow from behind hit the walker’s head. They both turned around only to find a couple of bearded men aiming at the walker.
‘’Woooh man’’ Tommy said.
‘’Sorry pal but I had to do something when I saw you having the little girl shoot that shithead. That’s dangerous’’ one of the men said.
‘’We’re travelers’’ the other man explained. ‘’We’re out here cause we’re looking for a place to stay. We’ve been travelling all week now’’. Tommy just stared at them without saying anything. He just glanced at the little girl and urged her to speak as if it were a test.
‘’Where are you from?’’ the little girl asked.
‘’We came here all the way from ‘’Mayday’’ which is our community. We’re far away now’’ one man answered. Tommy’s expressions hardened at the hearing of the community.
‘’Let’s go kiddo’’ Tommy said hastily.
‘’No’’ the other man said. ‘’You may have not heard of ‘’Mayday’’, I understand but you might have heard of the old name of our community cause it was reorganized recently. We’re from the old ‘’Mayen’’!’’ the man explained.
‘’Let’s get out of here kiddo, take care of it’’ Tommy told the little girl.
‘’B-But-‘’ the girl trembled.
‘’Jodie I said let’s go!’’ Tommy yelled at her. Jodie then pointed her arrow at one of the men.
‘’Wait what are you-‘’ one of the men tried to reason with them.
‘’NO FUCK IT LET’S GO MAN’’ the other man yelled anxiously and they both started running away. Jodie shot her arrow and hit one of the men before running the other direction with Tommy. The man tried to help the other man stand as they disappeared into the forest to escape.

After a few hours of walking, Tommy and Jodie reached the abandoned house. Tommy carried the deer inside and Jodie followed after barricading the door. Tommy placed the deer close to the fire and turned to Jodie: ‘’What the hell was that?!’’ he yelled.
‘’…I’m sorry…for chickening out…’’ Jodie said, barely being heard. They sat by the fire while Tommy was preparing the deer.
‘’You have to snap out of it. You can’t just hesitate every time we encounter danger. They could have attacked us. We could have been dead meat if not at least injured…How would you carry me? How would you take care of me? You can barely shoot an arrow’’ he said while looking at Jodie. She just stared at the fire burning, keeping her head low. ‘’Tomorrow we’re going out again for training. If we come across any of these fuckers again, we’re not letting them go’’ he continued. ‘’Do you understand?’’.
‘’Yes sir, I do…’’ she said without looking at him.
‘’Hey’’ he said. ‘’You keep fighting, no matter what. Keep your spirits up, we have a long way to go. You know, I often made the mistake to pity people and help them and then when they would stab me in the back or try to kill me-‘’.
‘’I know, I get it…’’ Jodie interrupted him.
‘’Point is, never spare anyone, never get close to anyone, cause the day you will do that, you will be having a weak point’’.
‘’What about me Tommy? Am I a weak point to you? Why did you protect me and not shoot me at the spot?’’ she asked. Tommy paused for a bit to think. He rubbed his beard as he always does and then turned to Jodie.
‘’No. You’re not a weak point. You know, Jodie, uhm…You know that this will end right?’’ he looked at her and continued. ‘’We’re not staying like this. One day I’m leaving you. But until that day comes I have to make sure that you don’t need me. I ain’t your goddamn daddy so don’t ask me why I did what I did. I just did it. And that’s it’’.
‘’I hope that this day ain’t coming anytime soon Tommy…’’ she answered.
‘’I think that it’s close, maybe a few months from now…definitely not a year’’ he chuckled.
‘’I know about ‘’Mayday’’, that’s where we lived for a while with my family before…you know…But what they said…that it was reorganized or something? What’s Mayen?’’ she asked him.
‘’Enough questions brat we have a lot of things to do, just go to sleep Jodie’’ he said calmly.

The next morning, the snow stopped falling. The fire was put out and some of the meat was gone. Jodie had been covered with a soft blanket. The birds were chirping and the sun was shining. The house was cold. Jodie stood up and looked around but Tommy was nowhere to be found. ‘’I knew it you cheap bastard’’ she mumbled and smiled while looking outside the window.
-.-

‘’Where did you go?’’ a little boy whispered to himself while searching for the small animal. He sneaked through the bushes and behind the trees trying to navigate it. ‘’Uhh don’t give me a hard time now sugar’’ he smiled. He followed the traces of the animal on the snow away from the shelter. Suddenly he came across a secret path that led to an old house. He looked at it up and down and approached the door. He looked inside the windows but he couldn’t see anything because of the frost. He cupped his mouth and blew on the glass to warm it but he could barely see anything. He walked around the deck to find a way in but then decided to knock on the door. The huge house seemed to scare him but the silence scared him even more. No one answered the door. More silence. As he turned his head an arrow was shot and scratched him above his eye. He stood still.
‘’Who are you?’’ a voice was heard from somewhere.
‘’I’m no one!’’ the little boy yelled while touching his wound. Blood was falling down his face from his small wound. ‘’I was just wandering around here trying to find shelter for the night!’’ he yelled.
‘’Stay away from here! Leave now or die!’’ the girl yelled.
‘’Alright…Okay…’’ the boy backed away. ‘’Sorry! I’m leaving now!’’ he yelled and rushed into the forest. A few minutes later, the girl showed up and ran into the house barricading the door behind her. She sat in the middle of the house and brought her knees to her chest trying to get warm.
‘’I wish you were here…’’ she whispered while rocking back and forth.

Chapter Text

‘’Okay so I got it! We go ouuut together, we find the wheelhouse, and like, like we know they have Barnie in there so we go there, find them, take them out and take Barnie with us. That’s the plan?’’ Teddy asks.
‘’Hmm precisely’’ Jodie says.
‘’No, no, no. You make it sound like a date’’ Will says.
‘’No I got it I’m telling you’’ Teddy replies.
‘’That’s why I insisted that I come with you guys, it’s not as easy as it sounds’’ Will says.
‘’Anyways, Teddy we have to be ready for anything, so stay focused’’ Jodie says.
‘’Alright I’m calling Malik. He will drive you out of the walls. Luckily the wheel house is close to our base and we have reports that they haven’t moved in 2 days so you better hurry and do the job. Got it?’’ Will asks.
‘’Yes, no need to worry. You know that I’m a good shot Willy boy’’ Teddy replies. ‘’Thing is…’’ Teddy continues, ‘’How do we know that Joe’s ready? She never showed up to any training sessions, she could barely hold a knife. That’s why they let us go, they know that they can kill her off like that and get her off of their backs Will. And you know how I get anxious what if-‘’
‘’Stop it Teddy’’ Will interrupted him. ‘’Just stick to the plan and everything will go right, I’m sure that Joe will do better than you, don’t worry too much about it’’ Will reassured Teddy.
‘’Okay is everyone ready?’’ Malik showed up.
‘’Yeah no worries’’ Will replied.
‘’Actually-‘’
‘’Shut it Teddy’’ Will and Malik said at the same time.
‘’What about you brat? You know I believe in you right?’’ Malik said.
‘’Fuck you too’’ Jodie told Malik.
‘’Hope to Not see you around after this you little-‘’
‘’Cut it’’ Will interrupted him again.
‘’Okay girls, let’s ride’’ Malik said as they rode the car outside the walls.
‘’Alright here’’ Will gave Teddy and Jodie a walkie-talkie. ‘’We’ll be in touch. When you’re done with the job, tell us and we’ll get you out of here’’ Will reminded them.
They were driving for a while until they entered the woods. Malik stopped the car there and helped them out of the car.
‘’Me and Will will stay hidden here and wait for you. Be careful, we don’t want any more losses’’ Malik said.
‘’And don’t forget, kill them, search the wheelhouse, take Barnie and we’re out of this dump’’ Will said. Teddy and Jodie got into the woods and started sneaking around looking for traces of the wheelhouse or any of these people who had gotten Barnie. After a while, they came across the traces of the wheels of the wheelhouse and looked around for any people.
‘’Okay Teddy, we’re close. Stay calm, I’ll handle it for you’’ Jodie said.
‘’Huh? Am I some kind of burden or a princess? It’s Me who will handle it and be quick, you just stay-‘’ Jodie covered Teddy’s mouth and pointed at a man peeing near some bushes. They nodded at each other and tried to sneak closer. The man turned around about to walk away when suddenly Jodie jumped on his back and slit his throat with her knife while trying to quiet him down. The man fell down, left in a pool of blood, with his hands still around his neck trying to stop the bleeding but failing. Teddy and Jodie came out of the bush and walked a bit further when they finally saw the wheelhouse. They stood on one side of the wheelhouse trying to hear how many people were actually there.
‘’Do you see any?’’ Teddy asked.
‘’No, not yet’’ Jodie said.‘’Hey give me a boost’’.
‘’Boost to where?’’ Teddy asked.
‘’Up there, on the wheelhouse. You stay here and walk around it while I show up from above, they won’t know how to react’’ Jodie explained.
‘’That’s crazy, what if they hurt Barnie first and then us?’’ Teddy said concerned.
‘’No, it will work, just hear me out’’.
‘’How did you even take that guy out like that, that brutally? You couldn’t even point the knife to us back in the cabin and-‘’.
‘’Now’s not the time’’ Jodie interrupted Teddy.
‘’Alright, let’s give it a try’’ Teddy said. Teddy and Jodie went close to the wheelhouse and Teddy gave Jodie a boost up the roof of the wheelhouse. Jodie stayed low on her stomach and crawled close to the edge while Teddy went around the wheelhouse. Then she signaled Teddy that there’s three of them on the other side, two holding Barnie and one smoking. They counted to three and got ready to attack.
‘’This ain’t funny guys you know. We always send you stuff and all you do is-‘’
‘’Shut the fuck up’’ one of the men interrupted Barnie. ‘’We don’t give a fuck about what you do. We just want our supplies and privileges and no one gets hurt here. Unless y’all disobey us and who knows if you don’t end up dead you might end up dickless’’.
‘’I…’’ Barnie mumbled. ‘’Great idea actually’’ he added.
‘’Where the fuck is Steven?’’ another man asked.
‘’I dunno man he was off to somewhere to piss a while ago’’ another one replied.
‘’Maybe he’s having a hard time there’’ the guy who was smoking said and laughed.
Suddenly Joe jumped on one of the guys that were holding Barnie, stabbing his back endlessly till he dropped dead. Teddy on the other hand showed up from one side of the wheelhouse and shot the other guy that was holding Barnie. Then the third guy started reloading his gun walking towards Teddy. Teddy pulled the trigger but nothing happened. ‘’FUCK! IM OUT OF AMMO FUCK FUCK!’’. The guy pointed his gun at Teddy and then-
A shot was heard throughout the forest and a lot of birds started flying away. Teddy covered his head while on the ground. The man stared at him, then at his chest, where a huge red stain suddenly appeared and fell down.
‘’Next time do more loading and less talking’’ Jodie told Teddy while cleaning her gun. Teddy removed his hands from his head and stood up slowly.
‘’Teddy!’’ Barnie yelled.
‘’Barnie!’’ Teddy yelled.
‘’We made it’’ Barnie said. ‘’Thank you for saving my life guys, I thought I would die eventually! Thank God for you people, Teddy and …?’’ Barnie paused.
‘’Joe. Teddy and Joe’’ Jodie said.
‘’Right! Teddy and Joe. You must be a new one around! Thank you!’’ Barnie thanked them happily and then hugged Teddy. Teddy put his hand up and turned the walkie-talkie on.
‘’Hello?’’ Teddy asked.
‘’Teddy? What happened?’’ Will asked back.
‘’We made it. We’re all okay, Barnie included’’.
Soon enough Will and Malik appeared and joined the others. They hugged each other starting from Barnie and then headed back to the car. Back to the community, they returned Barnie to his family and he thanked them once again for the rescue. Teddy was praised by Will which made him really happy and Malik talked to the others about Jodie, that she should stay more and contribute to the community. Once the night came Will and Jodie walked to their house. Will entered the house first and then waited for Jodie to lock the door. Will removed his jacket and sat on the couch while Jodie headed for her room. Will stood up and called her name. Jodie stood by the staircase and turned to him. His eyes were bright and his smile faded.
‘’You did well today…’’ he said calmly.
‘’Did Teddy…’’
‘’Yeah. I sat him down and told him to tell me how it went. That jerk could have gotten you all killed when he-‘’
‘’It’s fine…’’ Jodie interrupted him.
‘’No Joe, it’s not fine, it was dangerous. What if he got Barnie shot or…you? Or even himself?’’ Will said frustrated.
‘’Point is that he didn’t. We’re all okay, don’t worry Will..’’ she reassured him. ‘’But truth is I got a bit stressed when Teddy was out of ammo, what if I hadn’t shot the guy in time…He scared me to death’’ Jodie continued.
‘’That’s what I’m talking about. From now it will be just us. I will accompany you everywhere we go’’ Will added.
‘’No- I mean what if I were with you and something like happened and I didn’t manage to cover you and-‘’
‘’That’s my job…’’ Will smiled. ‘’Come here’’ he said.
‘’What?’’
‘’Just come’’. Jodie approached Will and sat next to him on the couch.
‘’Want me to do your hair?’’ Will asked.
‘’I- uhm I feel a bit uncomfortable…’’
‘’When you’re with me?’’ Will asked.
‘’Yeah…I’m not used to this, spending time with you and all…you know how we’re not that close…’’
‘’True but I do my best and uhm sorry for making you feel this way…’’ he looked down awkwardly. Jodie smiled at him. ‘’Why?’’ Will asked her.
‘’Wanna watch the night sky together?’’ Jodie proposed.
‘’Fuck yeah. On the roof?’’
‘’On the roof’’ Jodie agreed. Will wore his jacket and they went upstairs. He unlocked his window and they got out and sat on the small roof under his window, stargazing. After a few minutes, Will turned to Jodie, looking a little blushed. Jodie stretched her arm close to his head and patted his shiny dark hair. Will moved closer to her, caressed her cheek and tried to lean in to steal a kiss from her but she pulled away. The two of them felt a little awkward and looked away.
‘’I uh I’m sorry. Maybe I’m rushing things..I just felt like I had my chance and I tried to take it and- uh’’ Will paused flustered.
‘’I-It’s o-okay. I just don’t think I’m ready. You don’t even know me. This was so unpredictable’’ Jodie replied.
‘’No I- it doesn’t matter to me. I’m serious about you. I know more than you think about you than anyone else. I’ve been asking Tommy about stuff and then I met you and we live together now so I know some of your habits or things you like and don’t like. I just want this. I want this. Really. I really want this to happen. I want to be with you. Maybe now it’s clearer to you. I feel embarrassed…’’. Jodie just kept staring at him without knowing what to say or do to comfort him. All this was new to her. She felt like she liked Will’s affection but didn’t know how to respond to him. She felt weird every time he was close to her. It’s not like Will wasn’t attractive already but she didn’t know how to act around him. Will was spontaneous and open about his feelings while she was constantly thinking of what to say or how to act. They were polar opposites but she liked Will’s honesty and sincerity.
‘’I need more time to think things over Will’’ she told him. Will felt a bit frustrated at her reaction but he agreed to give her as much time as she wanted so that this relationship between them wouldn’t be one-sided. Will leaned his head on her shoulder and she caressed his soft hair. They stayed like this for a while until Will suddenly stood up and got inside. Jodie looked back at him wondering what happened. She got inside and closed the window. Will was walking back and forth in the room without saying anything.
‘’Anyways, it’s late now, you better go to your room and get some rest’’ Will told her.
‘’Why, what happened out of the blue?’’ Jodie asked him.
‘’I mean I wanna take a shower unless you wanna join me and rub my back’’ Will said while removing his shirt. Jodie threw her jacket on his face and paced out of the room.
‘’Fuck off you pervert, it’s my fault for believing any of the shit you said!’’ Jodie yelled and Will let out a laugh. He approached to calm her down but she pushed him on the bed and left the room. She was walking to her room but then Will rushed to her and pushed her on the wall, putting his hands next to her face. ‘’I said I’ll give you as much time as you like, but don’t play with me love. I’m a boy anyways’’. Jodie pushed his body away from her, entered her room and locked the door. ‘’Fucking asshole, I should just slit your throat in your sleep and feed you to the walkers’’ she murmured while leaning on one side of the door. On the other side there was Will turning his back at the door and closing his eyes with his chin up.
‘’I can hear you, you know’’ Will laughed. ‘’We’ll do it your way I guess. I’ll play along. See you tomorrow’’ Will yelled.
‘’In your dreams you piece of fucking shit unless you want me to plant a bullet in your left eye’’ Jodie yelled back.
‘’If it’s from you I’ll handle it, it’s gonna suit me anyways!’’ he said while returning to his room.
The next morning Will woke up early to do some chores around the house and cook for the day. He also prepared breakfast for the two of them and then took a shower. He wore clean clothes and then headed to Jodie’s room to call her out. Jodie also had woken up early in the morning and had taken a shower ready to start her day probably outside or somewhere away from Will after what had happened.
‘’Hey!’’ Will said while knocking on the door. ‘’I made you some breakfast! How about you come out and eat downstairs with me?’’
‘’How about you shove it up your ass?’’ Jodie replied.
‘’Haha good one. I’m not gonna wait for you, I have lots of errands today. If you want to, eat, if not, I don’t care. Brat…’’ Will left the plate on the floor and left.
Suddenly, Jodie’s walkie-talkie got turned on.
‘’HEY! HELLO! HI?’’ the voice said. Jodie quickly hid it under her pillow so that Will wouldn’t hear.
‘’Hey?’’ Jodie whispered.
‘’HEY? HELLO?’’ the voice yelled even louder.
‘’Shut up Teddy!’’ Jodie whispered back.
‘’Oh right right. Will. Okay I’ll be waiting for you behind Emma’s garden, Will never crosses that path to go to work or whatever he does so we’ll be good’’ Teddy explained.
‘’Do we really have to go?’’ Jodie asked.
‘’Yes! It’s important for your socialization. They’re all great, I promise you’’ Teddy said.
‘’Alright!’’ Jodie turned the walkie-talkie off.
She walked up to the mirror, got dressed up and fixed her hair before leaving the room. She added an ornament to look nicer and headed out of her room. So far she didn’t see Will anywhere so maybe he had already left. She took the plate downstairs and placed it on the table without touching anything at all. ‘’Will?’’ she said but no one replied. Then she left from the back door. While trying to find Teddy, on the way, many people smiled at her and she smiled gently back at them for the first time. She felt a lot better going out alone for the first time without having Will next to her all the time. She felt more independent and free. A few blocks away she saw Teddy who was waving his hand at her. She ran to him and hugged him to say hi. They both smiled and then she followed Teddy to some house with the number 12.
‘’As I said, it’s important for you to make some allies here, and if possible, some friends too. This house is known for people who wanna hang out, they gather there and do different things. I know some of them so I’ll introduce you to them. Will doesn’t usually go there because he’s an antisocial, weird, not normal…uhm anyways he doesn’t like it, so don’t tell him’’ Teddy explained.
‘’Honestly Teddy somehow I wonder how you guys hang out, you’re so different. You are nice and kind and fun to be with, Will is uhm…yeah’’ Jodie said.
‘’Yeah I get that a lot’’ Teddy bragged. ‘’Ok so we’re here! Let’s get in there’’.
‘’Hi Teddy!’’ some girl waved at him.
‘’Oh it’s Lisa, you know Lisa’’ Teddy said to Jodie.
‘’Yeah anyways’’.
‘’Teddy how are you doing? Where’s Will?’’ she asked Teddy.
‘’Well, you know him, he’s not into this kind of thing. He’s more of a private guy’’ Teddy explained.
‘’Nooo don’t say that he’s so loving and adorable and very popular too, what do you say Joe?’’ Lisa asked her.
‘’Well, I find him unfunny, annoying, disgusting, immature, irresponsible-‘’
‘’Haha she means he’s fun’’ Teddy laughed awkwardly while interrupting Jodie.
‘’Right!’’ Jodie yelled.
‘’Well guys let’s head inside there are more people who’d like to get to know you!’’ Lisa suggested. ‘’Oh! There! It’s Louis!’’ Lisa pointed at a young man with golden hair and green eyes.
‘’Hello Teddy! Long time no see’’ Louis talked to Teddy first. ‘’How’s Will?’’ he asked him.
‘’He’s fine. Just moody and all, you know him’’ Teddy said. ‘’Oh who’s that?’’
‘’That’s my sister Martha! It’s her first time here’’ Louis added. Teddy’s eyes grew bigger when he saw her coming their way like he knew that she was gonna be trouble to him. Her wavy cinnamon hair, her green eyes, she looked like an angel before him.
‘’Martha, this is Teddy!’’ Louis introduced them.
‘’Hi Teddy!’’ said Martha full of excitement. Teddy shook her hand about 5 times and introduced himself as calmly as he could after the culture shock he had gone through. Teddy was half-French and so were Louis and Martha so he felt a connection to them.
‘’Very pleased to meet you’’ Teddy said while removing his glasses to see her better even though he was almost blind.
‘’What is your name?’’ Martha asked Jodie.
‘’I’m Joe’’ Jodie said and hugged Martha.
They all hang out together and enjoyed their day there over coffee and some good company. The time was passing by quickly and the night came by fast. Teddy, Louis and Martha started drinking and Martha looked already drunk even though she had only drunk a little. Teddy who had drunk just 2 glasses of alcohol was also as drunk as the crazy elders that lived by the walls and started laughing hysterically while Louis was just fine even though he had drunk a bottle by himself. Lisa was the first one to leave the party without drinking anything since she had work to do the next day. Jodie, even though she had tried only a little alcohol, was already bright red and seemed like she was starting to lose her balance. She and Martha were leaning towards each other and couldn’t stop laughing.
Back at the house, Will had just returned home many hours later after a long day at work. He unlocked the door and entered the dark house. He was surprised that all the lights were off. He approached the kitchen counter and saw the breakfast he had made for Jodie all there untouched. He called her name twice but no one replied. He then went upstairs and knocked on her door but no sign of anyone once again. The door opened slightly and Will entered her room but she was nowhere to be found. He strolled around for a bit and tried to think. He walked up to her desk and opened the first drawer. There he found her knife and her walkie-talkie. ‘’What’s this? She was supposed to give it back after the mission’’ he mumbled to himself. He turned the walkie-talkie on and tried calling her. Suddenly a strange voice was heard.
‘’Hello? Joe?’’ Will asked again.
‘’AYOOO! WASSUP EVERYBODY’’ someone yelled through the walkie-talkie. You could hear music coming from it and people yelling.
‘’Who’s this?’’ Will asked again.
‘’WHO’S WHO?’’ the voice yelled again.
‘’Teddy?’’ Will said calmly. ‘’ Where are you?’’
‘’Uhm I’m in house 12 baby!!’’ Teddy said.
‘’Is Joe with you?’’.
‘’Must be around here somewhere. You should totally come over, there’s booze and everything’’ Teddy yelled once again.
‘’You fucking idiot!’’ Will yelled and turned the walkie-talkie off. ‘’Just wait ‘till I show up and I’ll beat your ass’’.
More and more people showed up at the house 12 as the time passed. There was loud music and people were drinking endlessly or playing different alcohol games. Others were dancing or singing along.
‘’You know Joe! We should have met earlier!’’ Martha yelled into the crowd.
‘’I know right! This is so fun! Fuck Will and everybody!’’ Jodie yelled back. They both yelled as they hugged each other while jumping up and down into the crowd. The music was too loud to hear each other. Teddy was going overboard and Louis was still swallowing bottles of alcohol.
‘’GUYS!’’ Teddy yelled.
‘’YES?’’ Martha and Joe yelled.
‘’HAHA I THINK I FUCKED UP! WILL MAY OR MAY NOT BE ON HIS WAY HERE’’ Teddy screamed.
‘’Who’s Will? He can party with us!’’ Martha yelled while sipping more alcohol.
Will finally reached house 12 and tried to walk through all the people in the yard and enter inside. He saw the huge crowd and sighed in disappointment. He tried to look for Teddy but he was nowhere to be found. He tried calling his name but nothing happened. That’s when he saw Louis drinking in the crowd. He tried to push through everyone to get to him and he saw him going deeper in next to someone. Will hurried close to him and accidentally stepped on someone.
‘’HEY MAN! WATCH IT!’’. It was Teddy
. ‘’Oh boy am I kicking your ass when we’re out of here!’’ Will screamed to him.
‘’No relaaax and have fuuun, want something to drink?’’ Teddy asked.
‘’Where’s Joe?’’ Will asked Teddy back.
‘’Oh she’s with Louis and Martha, they seem to be having a nice time!’’ Teddy yelled.
‘’That asshole Louis…’’ Will whispered while pushing people away. That’s when he saw Louis pulling Jodie close to him to dance with him. ‘’Fucking bastard…’’ Will whispered again while trying to get closer to them.
‘’I know you live with Will!’’ Louis yelled.
‘’Yeah I do! It sucks!’’ Jodie yelled back.
‘’You know, now that you’re free, you can live wherever you want. You don’t need him really. He’s not your dad or anything but even if he was, fuck him too’’…….
.
Dad… ’’But until that day comes I have to make sure that you don’t need me. I ain’t your goddamn daddy so don’t ask me why I did what I did. I just did it. And that’s it’’.
‘’ Take your brother and sister and go! Follow mom quickly! He’s coming…’’
‘’I ain’t your goddamn daddy’’.
.
She froze. She stood there as her dear father’s throat was slit by that man in ‘’Mayday’’ by his katana. She froze. She stood there as her brother was brutally shot by a shotgun. She froze. She stood there as her bitten mother was waiting for her to put her out of her misery under that tree. She froze. She stood there as her sister didn’t make it while they were running in the woods and a walker bit her neck. She froze. She stood there as Tommy was leaving her alone.
The music was too loud but she felt like she couldn’t hear anything, for a while everything went silent. She unfroze and punched Louis in the face. She kicked him down and got on top of him punching him as hard as she could. Will found them and rushed to her and took her away from him.
They returned home. Will opened the door and she rushed inside, going up the stairs and got locked into her room. Will went after her and started knocking on her door. She felt like sobbing but not a single tear could get away from her eyes. Her heart hurt, she wanted to be alone. She might have thought that everything would be okay now but deep down those wounds were far from healing. She felt like that was enough, enough for her to stop trying, to stop fighting. ‘’I’m sorry Tommy…’’ she whispered to herself. ‘’…But I’ve grown tired of fighting for nothing…’’ the tears were now falling from her pale face down to the ground. Will kept knocking on the door begging her to open. He started banging on the door trying to break the lock. Jodie wiped her tears away with her shirt and removed the ornament from her hair. She had been exhausted of all of this. Will broke the lock and entered. He found her sitting down on the floor all curled up with tears on her face. His heart couldn’t bear it, he hated it, he couldn’t stand this. He despised this sighting of his loved one looking like a mess, looking so fragile even he was scared to touch her. He looked at her. Jodie looked back at him.
‘’You made it in again pervert’’ she said and smiled slightly. Will approached her slowly and sat down next to her.
‘’Sucks?’’ he asked her.
‘’Really fucking sucks’’ she answered him. He stretched his arm around her and brought her closer to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and wiped her tears again.
‘’I’ll do anything for you my love’’ he said while taking her hands into his and kissing them. She stood up and tried to run away from him again but he grabbed her hand. ‘’Don’t leave me be…’’he told her.
‘’I’m sorry for upsetting you…’’ Jodie said sadly.
‘’Don’t say that…I told you a hundred times that I will stick with you…’’he reassured her. As soon as she heard him, she ran into his hands and hugged him tightly. Will felt satisfied after feeling her warmth. ‘’C’mon I’ll do your hair’’ he told her after letting go. ‘’So do you want me to sleep with you tonight? Just for today’’ Will asked with a big smile on his face.
‘’Noooooo’’ Jodie yelled back at him. ‘’You perv’’ she said while Will lit a cigarette.
_._

‘’I know about ‘’Mayday’’, that’s where we lived for a while with my family before…you know…But what they said…that it was reorganized or something? What’s Mayen?’’ she asked him.
‘’Well, ‘’Mayen’’ used to be some bastard’s territory. He started that shitty community but it kept failing, there wasn’t enough food for everyone so fights started breaking out and people weren’t satisfied with it. The head of it was Max Buckley that piece of shit. That was around my time. I had told him that we wouldn’t last if we kept that up and he threatened to throw me out. He was selfish and a shithead, we didn’t even have patrols or anything, we didn’t send groups out to find supplies cause people would die. Well that’s not how you run a community. One day we got into a huge fight. He gathered people of the community around and told everyone what I was and what I did before the fall. Everyone hated me and demanded I’d be thrown out. I tried to reason with them but they pointed their weapons at me. That was when I basically broke down in front of everyone and went mental calling people out including him for his wrongs. That’s how I ended up outside and alone. And with people after me. The news spread around the communities that I was a threat and many people were sent to find me and kill me. After a few years, now your time, Max met some other asshole that matched his energy I guess and the two of them decided to reorganize the community, Max Buckley and Aaron House, the man that killed your father and the man that killed your brother. I’m not gonna tell you what to do, but if I ever come across these bastards, I’ll cut their heads off and decorate my fireplace with them. Understood?’’ Tommy said.
‘’Yes sir…Max Buckley and Aaron House…I will execute them’’.