.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

The group stood in silence, staring at the water bottles placed in the middle of the road. Stella tightened her hold on Judith, pressing the child closer to her chest as she read the note tucked among the bottles.

From a friend.

A shiver crawled up Stella's spine. The feeling of being watched was suffocating, a ghostly presence lingering just beyond her line of sight. Her throat ached, dry and raw, and despite the unease curling in her stomach, she couldn't stop the desperate thirst clawing at her. The water sat within reach, so simple, so necessary, yet riddled with the unknown. She glanced over her shoulder again, her gaze carefully traveling along the trees.

"What else are we gonna do?" Tara spoke up, breaking the thick silence.

"Not this," Rick said, his voice firm and stern. "We don't know who left it."

"If that's a trap we already happen to be in it," Eugene said, his eyes permanently plastered on the water bottles. "But I, for one, would like to think it is indeed from a friend."

"What if it isn't? What if they put something in it?" Levi countered.

Eugene ignored the boy and stepped forward to grab one of the bottles.

"Eugene!" Rosita called out.

"What are you doing, dude?" Tara question. Eugene lifted the bottle but before he could take a sip, Abraham quickly knocked it out of his hand, the water splashing up in his face and onto the dry, cracked pavement.

"We can't," Rick said.

Moments later, the silence transformed into a rumbling. Thunder shook the sky, catching all of their attention instantly. The relief was instantaneous as cold drops of rain trickled down on them, cooling their skin and replacing the torturing heat. Stella tilted her head back, letting the rain soak her face, her cracked lips parting as she caught the drops on her tongue. A breathy laugh bubbled out of her chest. The girl lifted the makeshift hat from Judith's heat, allowing the rain to drip over her sweaty head.

She turned toward Rick, her smile wide, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten and the same applied to the rest of the group who laughed excitingly.

"Everybody get the bags, anything you can find," Rick instructed and the group scrambled, holding bottles and canteens beneath the downpour, working as quickly as possible before the storm worsened. Stella lifted Carls's hat from his head, sending him a smile before covering Judith's head from the heavy rain.

The happiness and relief were cut short as they soon realized that the weather would only get worse and they needed to take cover. The wind howled, and the sky darkened, heavy clouds rolling in with violent intent.

"Let's keep moving!" Rick shouted to drown out the loud weather.

"There's a barn!" Daryl said.

The group hurried to gather their supplies and followed Daryl into the forest, scurrying between the trees until they reached the barn. The barn was old, its wooden frame weathered and worn, but it was shelter. Rick and the others swept through first, weapons drawn, clearing the space before signaling the rest inside.

It wasn't much but it was enough to protect them from the storm and whatever threat could be lurking in the bad weather.

Night fell, but the storm raged on. Rain leaked through the cracked roof, pooling in the dirt. The wind rattled the walls, making them groan under the weight of the storm

People were quick to fall asleep, their bodies worn from the restless walking. Stella sat around the small fire with Judith in her lap, feeding her some water before humming her to sleep. She leaned against Levi's chest,  his arm draped protectively over her shoulders, his thumb tracing slow, absentminded circles on Judith's tiny hand as her small fingers were wrapped around his index finger.

She glanced up at him, finding him already watching her. He smiled, tired but soft, and she mirrored it. Her gaze then trailed to her brother who lay completely passed out on the ground a few feet away from Levi, with his hat covering his face.

Rick too stared at the boy, his expression tight which Carol didn't fail to notice.

"He's gonna be okay." She spoke softly. "He bounces back, more than any of us do."

Rick went quiet for a moment, his eyes not leaving Carl. "I used to feel sorry for kids that have to grow up now. In this." He looked up and met Stella's gaze as the girl listened closely. "But I think I got it wrong. Growing up is getting used to the world. This is easier for them."

"This isn't the world," Michonne said. "This isn't it."

Glenn let out a quiet exhale, throwing a glance over his shoulder where Maggie lay sleeping. "It might be." He said as he turned his head back.

Stella stared into the flames, her voice barely above a whisper. "That's giving up."

"Until we see otherwise, this is what we have to live with," Rick said, his gaze falling upon his daughter. A beat of silence passed, the sound of the rain hammering against the barn and the thunder rumbling in the distance giving the night an eerie atmosphere until Rick spoke up again.

"When I was a kid I asked my grandpa once if he killed any Germans in the war." He began and Stella glanced up at him at the mention of her great-grandfather. "He wouldn't answer. He said that was grown-up stuff, so... so I asked if the Germans ever tried to kill him. But he got real quiet. He said he was dead the minute he stepped into enemy territory. Everyday he woke up and told himself, 'Rest in peace. Now get up and go to war. And then after a few years of pretending he was dead... he made it out alive. That's the trick of it, I think."

Everyone listened carefully as the man spoke, every word firm and unshakable. "We do what we need to do and then we get to live." He continued. "But no matter what we find in DC. I know we'll be okay. Because this is how we survive. We tell ourselves.. that we are the walking dead."

His words hung in the air for a moment as everyone around the fire remained quiet, allowing his words to settle with them, letting them sink into their skin. Stella's eyes never left her father, studying him as he spoke.

"We ain't them." Daryl rasped.

"We're not them. Hey," Rick said, making the man look at him. "We're not."

Daryl exhaled deeply before standing up. "We ain't them." He said and walked off, into a secluded area inside the barn, leaving the rest to sit in silence.

Stella blinked as she watched him disappear and scooted closer to Levi, her head resting against his chest. She breathed out, sinking into the comfort of his arms and proximity. She felt him place a soft kiss on the top her her head and tighten his hold on her as Judith cooed in her lap.

The comforting moment was short-lived. Suddenly, Maggie shot to a stance on the other side of the barn and rushed in the direction where Daryl had just disappeared, followed by Sasha. Everyone around the fire shifted to see what was happening and the sight made their hearts clench with dread. In the flickering light of the lightning outside they could perceive silhouettes pressed against the wood, dozens of them. The doors wobbled, held shut only by a weak chain. The already torn wooden planks on the door wobbled upon the impact.

Everyone shot up and raced across the barn while Stella lingered by the fire. She quickly kneed down beside Carl, shaking him awake. The boy's eyes fluttered open and she carefully handed Judith to him. "Stay here." She huffed and rushed to the group that pressed themselves against the barn door.

She threw her weight against the door, helping hold it shut as the dead clawed at them from the other side and the planks threatened to cave in. The wind whipped violently, rain blinding them, but they pushed with everything they had. Every muscle in Stella's body screamed, her vision swam, and the wet ground made it hard to keep her foot grip.

They stayed like that almost all night until it felt like every muscle in their bodies had been set ablaze and their legs couldn't hold their weights any longer. The chaos outside got swept away by the storm and the exhausted group managed to get a few hours of sleep, however, Stella couldn't sleep much.

Every time she closed her eyes, the dizziness set in making it impossible to get a moment of peaceful sleep. Every movement was agony. Even as she lay down, her muscles burned, her skin throbbed, and a strange, deep ache radiated from within her bones. Every time she moved, the scratches and bruises that she had picked up along the road stung. Shifting against the uneven ground, even just grazing the smallest rocks on the ground cut her skin as if it was as fragile as a butterfly's wing. She winced out whenever she moved.

"Hey," Levi whispered and scooted himself up on his elbow to look down at the girl in his arms. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

The girl turned her head up to look at him, a faint smile brushing over her face. "Yeah, I'm just worn, I guess." She said in a hushed tone.

Levi's eyes raked her, his hand brushing gently down her arm. It was dark but the lightning outside occasionally revealed the bruises on her arms. It wasn't weird that she bruised easily after weeks without food, but there was something about the sight that made Levi's jaw clench.

"Hey, look at me." She whispered and the boy met her gaze in the darkness of the barn. "I'm okay."

He hesitantly laid back down, carefully brushing some hair out of her face before pressing a gentle kiss on her temple. Enveloped in his arms allowed her to breathe more steadily, following his breathing as he slowly sank into a tender sleep.

Stella blinked as the sun forced her eyes open. She had only managed to get a mere hour of sleep. Her body ached and her skin stung with bruises and cuts. The girl slowly slipped out of Levi's arms but as she attempted to stand up, everything tilted and she found herself back on the ground, her knees in the dirt. She let out a shaky breath and prayed that she hadn't woken anyone up but as she glanced around she met Daryl's gaze. He sat by the barn door, two concerned eyes raking her. He stood up and walked over to her, tossing her a few blueberries.

"Here," He spoke, a softness in his voice that was very reserved. "You look like you need 'em more than I do."

The man turned back around and sat down by the door, glancing through the slots to make sure it was still quiet outside. Stella stood up slowly and chewed down the berries. The flavor was sweet at first, the berries melting in her mouth. But soon the flavor turned bitter and metallic. Her face scrunched up and she couldn't help but spit them out. Blood.

Along with the half-chewed berries, blood splattered on the floor of the barn.

Daryl's brows knitted together with worry. He got up from his seat, hesitantly standing a few feet away from her, unsure what to do.

Stella lifted her hand. "I'm fine." She said, spitting out the remaining red substance in her mouth before wiping it with the back of her hand.

"It's your gums," Daryl spoke up after a moment. The girl blinked up at him and ran her tongue along her gums, wincing at the raw swollen tissue. She grimaced and Daryl's expression tightened. "Maggie might know what's wrong. You should ask her when she wakes up."

Stella pressed her tongue against her gums again and her face twisted in pain. She swallowed hard and nodded at him, trying to ignore her aching mouth. "What's it look like you there?" She said and peeked through the slot in the barn door.

"Take a look," He creaked the door open. Stella stepped outside, seeing the trees that had collapsed on top of walkers, some speared by the branches. Other walkers had been taken by the wind, handing and squirming in the trees that hadn't fallen. Others had just been torn apart by the storm's carnage, body parts scattered over the grass.

The world was still cruel. But they had survived another night however Stella couldn't help but wonder how long they could stay out there like that. They needed a miracle.

_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____
𝟐𝟎𝟗𝟕 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____

𝐀/𝐍
what do we think is going on w Stella