.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 in a day when you don't spend half of them watching television, doing your makeup, and playing video games? When was the last time any of us made an effort to get something that we really wanted? How long had it been since any of us really needed something that we wanted?

These are something's that would strike Stella's mind, before everything went to hell. She would constantly beat herself up for her selfishness and her ignorance. She would get mad at things that didn't matter like when her parents wouldn't let her go out or when she would argue about her curfew. And the worst thing was that she was resentful. She would lock herself in her room and not talk with her family for the rest of the day. Thinking back at it now, Stella hated herself for her overreactions, thinking about the times that she would sit in her room and sulk over unnecessary things, wasting time that she could have spent with her family- with her father.

But the world that she knew was gone, and so was her father. The world Stella knew, the world of ignorance and frivolous necessity had been replaced by a new world. A world of survival and responsibility. Stella carried the responsibility for her brother. Her mother did too, if not more responsibility. But she wouldn't live forever, leaving Carl in Stella's responsibility.

☆

Stella looked over to a stressed Amy as she wandered back and forth. She was the only one who still waited for her sister's return. Even though no one would admit it, Stella knew that everyone else had lost hope and knew that the chances of them returning were zero.

"Worrying won't make it better," Dale said calmly before returning to his ongoing project to fix the RV. Jim, a very silent and odd man, was helping him. Glenn was usually the man helping Dale and seeing Jim next to him felt wrong.

Stella was sitting on the hood of one of the parked cars looking over to the busy camp. People were hanging up laundry, working with cars, trying to make meals of the little ingredients they had.

Next to her, Levi was sitting, sharpening his knife. Stella's mother and Dale decided to let the boy get his weapons back, in case of a walker attack. Despite Shane's protest, the two adults got their way.

It had been three days since Levi appeared from the forest that night. Ever since then, Stella had been the happiest she'd been since the fall. She had someone to talk to. Before the world collapsed Stella took for granted that she always had some that she could turn to. Whenever she was bored she knew that she could call a friend or meet up with someone. But going from that and to a world where you barely talk to anyone unless it's about survival was a challenge for the girl. She was thankful for Levi.

Stella's gaze was carried around the camp before focusing on her brother and Shane- who was sitting on a log a few yards away. The girl only saw their backs but she could tell that they were laughing. A thing that was quite unusual in a world like this. Stella felt as a smile appeared on her face.
A sparking sound made the girl's head turn swiftly. The sound came from the C.B radio, that was placed on the RV roof.

"Hello, base camp!"

Without hesitation, Stella jumped of the car and rushed to the RV - joining up with Amy.
"Can anybody out there hear me?" Despite the sparking, Stella recognized the voice- T-dog.
A wave of hope and happiness washed over the girl- they're alive!
"Base camp, this is T-dog. Anybody hear me?"

Dale-who had climbed up on the RV roof- hastily grabbed the microphone to the radio.

"Hello? Hello?!" Dale spoke into the microphone.

"We're in some deep shit. We're trapped in the department store. There are geeks all over the place. Hundreds of them! We're surrounded."

The little hope that Stella had felt washed off just as fast as it had appeared.

Amy's hand flew to her mouth as she let out a gasp. "Andrea." She whispered her sister's name so quietly, it was almost unbearable.
Stella pulled the whimpering girl into her arms.

The radio lost its reception with a crackling sound and the girl in Stella's arms began to cry harder.

"He said the department store," Lori stated.

"I heard it too," Dale said as he climbed down from the RV.

"Shane" Stella's mother stepped forward as she rested her arms on her hips.

"No way." Shane stopped the woman."We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group. Y'all know that."

"So we're just going to leave her there," Amy said lifting her face from Stella's shoulder exposing her red glossy eyes.

"Amy," Shane said before the girl unraveled from the hug and stepped towards the man in front of her.

"She volunteered to go, to help the rest of us." The girl's tone was angry and aggressive.

"I know," Shane nodded. "And she knew the risk, right? See, if she's trapped, she's gone."

Stella saw as Amy's face dropped at the man's words. "She's my sister, you son of a bitch." Amy said before storming away. The girl's words shocked Stella and she couldn't help but smile slightly.

Shane turned to Stella's mother and they exchanged a few looks.
Stella had noticed that there was a tension between the two but wasn't sure what their situation was. Despite her father's death, the thought of her mother and Shane in a relationship disgusted her.

Lori turned around and tried to catch up with Amy leaving the rest of the group in a thick silence. Everyone else returned to their chores and that's when Stella got an idea. A few weeks back, Glenn brought a bow and a couple of arrows back from a supply run. Everyone just forgot about it, even Stella - until now.

The girl walked into the RV and searched through the drawers until she found the black bow and the green arrows. Then she wandered towards the forest.

"Stella?" Shane said as he caught up to the girl. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna practice," Stella replied lifting the bow in front of her.

"You want me to come with y..."

"No, I'm good. I can handle myself." The girl smirked. "Plus, there's never any walkers up here."

"Alright," Shane replied with a smile before gently patting her on the back.

The girl began to walk into the forest with the bow in her hand and her quiver resting on her back. The leaves crunched under her feet as she walked deeper into the forest.

After walking for a few minutes the girl quickly came to a halt. A white rabbit jumped out of a shrubbery and onto the leafy ground. Stella hastily crouched and slowly took out an arrow from her quiver. She barely breathed as she placed the arrow on the arrowrest before slowly pulling the string back and aiming at the rabbit in front of her. She let go of the sting and watched as the arrow flew through the air before piercing the rabbit in the stomach. The rabbit let out a small squeak before falling on its side- dead.

Stella lowered the weapon in front of her and stared at the arrow in the rabbit. She let out a huff of air that transformed into a giggle that later transformed into a shout of joy. But her happiness was short-lived. A rustling sound behind her made her, in one quick move, turn around and grab an arrow, and place it on the arrow rest. She quickly fired the arrow without seeing the source of the sound. The arrow shot through the air before piercing a tree only centimeters away from Levi's face.

"Levi!" Stella gasped.

"Are you trying to kill me?" The boy laughed with his eyes still wide open in shock.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Stella's heart was pounding so hard in her chest. She almost killed Levi. She almost killed Levi!

"Your mom wants you to get back." The boy said nodding his head towards the camp.

"Alright," Stella threw her bow over her shoulder and began to walk toward the direction Levi had pointed to. But after only three steps the girl stopped. "Wait!"
She turned around and ran back to where she had been standing earlier. She picked up the rabbit. Its body was already rigid and cold. She lifted her latest catch for the boy to see.

"Stella Grimes, did you catch that?" The boy said smiling.

"First try," Stella said proudly as she pulled out the arrow from the rabbit.

𓃹

Stella sat next to Shane as he helped her skin her rabbit. Levi sat on the ground, still sharpening his knife and observing Shane and Stella.
"How sharpened could a knife get?" Stella thought to herself.

In front of them, Stella's mother sat on a camp chair, cutting Carl's hair.

Stella's gaze was carried over the colorful campsite that she had grown to call home. But she still doubted that it was safe. It was like she was waiting for walkers to storm the camp.

"Baby, the more you fidget the longer it takes, so don't," Lori said to her son.

"I'm trying." The boy always hated to cut his hair, even before the fall. He didn't have the patience to just sit there and always ran and hid as soon as his mother said that it was time for a trim.

"Well, try harder." His mother said grabbing his head and holding it still for her.

"If you think this is bad, wait til you start shaving," Shane said looking up from the animal in his hands. "That stings. That day comes, you'll be wishing for one of your mama's haircuts." The man smiled.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Carl said with a bit of attitude in his voice.
Stella couldn't help but let out a soft giggle.

"I'll tell you what— you get through this with some manly dignity and tomorrow I'll teach you something special." The man took a short pause for the sake of excitement. "I'll teach you how to catch frogs."

Carl's eyes shone out of excitement. "I've caught a frog before." He said proudly.

"I said frogs- plural. And it's an art, my friend. It's not to be taken lightly. There are safe ways and means. Few people know about it. I'm willing to share my secrets."
Both Levi and Stella giggled at the childish man. The young boy turned to his mother for her to agree but she quickly grabbed his head and turned him away gently as she laughed: "Oh, I'm a girl. You talk to him."

"Why do we need frogs, plural?" The young boy asked asked Shane.

"You ever eat frog legs?"

"Eww!" Carl made a disgusted face.

"No, yum." Shane smiled.

"No, he's right, eww." Stella laughed.

"I'm with Stella and Carl on this one," Levi said not taking his eyes off the weapon in his hands.

"Me too." Stella's mother filled in.

"When you get down to that last can of beans you gonna be loving those frog legs, Stella." Shane looked at the girl next to her and smiled before continuing. "Yeah, I can see it now- Shane, do you think I could have a second helping, please? Just one." Shane mocked the girl who looked at him with her mouth forming an O.

"Yeah, I doubt that." She laughed, pushing Shane playfully with her elbow.

A sound, like an alarm, echoed between the mountains - breaking the happy atmosphere.

Stella, Levi, and Shane stood up hastily and began to run toward the parked RV where Dale was standing on the roof with his binoculars to his eyes, scanning the area and looking for the source of the sound.

"What is it?" Stella asked.

"I can't tell yet."

"Is it them? Are they back?" Amy asked panicked and eager for answers. "Dale, what is it?"

"Stolen car is my guess." He replied, lowering his binoculars.

A red sports car drove towards the camp with a loud alarm echoing from it. Confused, Stella took a step backward and towards Levi- feeling safer in his presence.
Glenn flew out of the car with a smile glued on his face. But a strong feeling of worry washed over her - where are the rest? Why is he alone?

Despite the worry that she felt, she smiled at the sight of Glenn- alive.

"Holy crap!" Dale exclaimed. "Turn that damn thing off!"

"I don't know how!" Glenn yelled trying to drown out the sound from the car.

"My sister Andrea—" Amy asked worried as she hurried up to Glenn.

"Pop the damn hood!" Shane commanded.

"Andrea is she—" Amy tried to get the boy's attention as he jumped back into the car and did as Shane told him.

"She's okay! She's okay!" Glenn practically yelled, trying to calm the desperate girl down.

Amy threw out question after question about her sister, receiving only short answers.

"Yeah, everybody's fine," Glenn said. "Well, Merle not so much."

Merle was Daryl's brother. Two rednecks, who Stella never really liked.

"Are you crazy driving this wailing bastard up here?" Shane asked, like whatever happened to Merle didn't bother him at all.

"It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?" Dale said scolding Glenn.

"Sorry. We got a cool car." The boy said just as a big truck pulled up to the camp making every head at the camp turn in its direction.

"Amy!" Andrea yelled as she ran to her sister with her arms open.

Everybody watched as families reunited, running towards each other, crying for each other with open arms.

Stella heard as her brother began to sob next to her. She understood that seeing everyone reunite with their families hurt to watch. Stella turned to face her brother and she and their mother began to lead him away.

"Baby, I know," Stella said bringing her brother into a hug, once they had distanced from the group. She heard as he sobbed violently into her shoulder. She stroked his hair and thought of something to say. But she came up with nothing. There was nothing she could say or do to make him feel better- to make herself feel better. The feeling of not knowing how or when her father died. The image of him being torn apart by a hungry walker who saw him as a meal haunted her mind.

The two siblings unraveled from the hug and Stella's mother and Stella switched positions and their mother kneeled down in front of her son and took his hands in hers.

"I know, baby. This isn't easy."
But Carl's head turned in the other direction, looking towards the cluster of campers. Stella followed his gaze along with her mother. As her eyes met him, it was like a thousand memories played in her head- like a movie. She choked on her own breath and felt as tears began to form in her eyes. She blinked rapidly trying to take in what she was seeing. She couldn't believe it, he was dead. Too many emotions washed over her all at once. It was her father.

"Dad! Dad!" Her younger brother began to run to his father's arms, followed by Stella.
They crashed into their father's hug, sobbing. Overwhelmed by emotions they fell to their knees. The girl pressed her face into her father's shoulder and took a deep breath smelling her father's scent. A sent that only could be described as Rick Grimes. A sent that she had missed more than anything in the world. A sent that filled her whole body and heart with a warm happy feeling of home.

Rick got on his feet again with his children in his arms and embraced his wife. And suddenly their family was reunited as one, that missing piece in Stella'a heart was finally filled again. Tears were streaming down her face and she sobbed into the hug. No one said anything, there was nothing to say. They were together again. And she never wanted to let go, never wanted to let this moment pass. And for a moment, everything felt as if it was gonna be okay- that they were gonna be okay.

_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____
𝟐𝟕𝟔𝟖 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟓𝐭𝐡
𝟐:𝟑𝟐 𝐏𝐌
_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____

A/N

I feel like I'm moving too fast but I'm not sure. And also I want to finish the whole book before posting it so I can make changes along to way and stuff but I do not have the patience for that lol

𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲😭idek