'you have a place in my heart no one else ever could have.' f. scott fitzgerald

season 2, episode 1
What Lies Ahead

day 66.

"What do you think?" Sadie questioned, looking at Isaac. The teenagers had kept their distance from the new group, as did the group from them. It was a gray line of trust - an alliance. Mostly due to the adolescents of the trio.

Rick, their obvious leader, had a lot of hope. It was quite the opposite of Pandora's box; all the bad was minsulecal while hope, God, was hope running through his veins like blood. He hoped they were good, as they did with them.

It was never like this before. You used to meet new people without the fear of turning away and getting killed. You could meet new people and wish for a possible relationship, not an opportunity to improve your own situation.

The end not only broke humanity, but broke the idea of trust. Good and evil were identical twins, smiling wide with their hands behind their back. You would never know which one held flowers and which one held a knife. The only thing you could do is risk the what if and choose.

Which leaves them here. Questioning the gray line.

The boy furrowed his brows. "We'll leave once we're done scavenging." He tucked his gun into his pants, resting on his back. He was only sixteen, and he had changed so much. Now that he thought about it, it was nearing fall. Dreary days and comforting cold nights gave it away. Isaac was seventeen.

A year he wasn't particularly interested in. It was a blur year. One that didn't exactly impact your life the same way sixteen or eighteen did. He would easily forget it as the months blurred and in a blink he'd be eighteen.

But now seventeen would be known as the year of the lost, the dead, and the forgotten. Also known as the fate of everyone who remained.

Only three months prior, Isaac detested the idea of guns. His dad kept an AK-47 at home and at their store. Neither loaded, only for intimation. That's where Isaac learned it. The guns they had in the van were empty, not a signal bullet to match the guns.

And much like his dad, Isaac learned the truth. "Big groups never last."

Sadie's shoulders faltered. She wanted to believe in these people. She wanted to believe in people. It was painted all over her face. But she knew what they would do if they knew the truth. She nodded, ducking down into a trunk.

Alyson gave Isaac a look. She gave what she thought only through silence. She didn't trust them.

"Why'd you do it?" Alyson asked after some time of silence.

Sadie's eyes flickered to her. She wasn't visibly mad or upset, she was calm. It made Sadie's stomach drop. Isaac's stares for an answer didn't help either.

"They have kids. I-I thought I could drop it off and make it back." Sadie fiddled with a Nirvana t-shirt she found. "I didn't notice him."

Any other situation, she would have died. She was lucky she didn't. His gun was pressed against her jaw. He could have fired when she kicked him, but he didn't. She got lucky. And that luck could never happen again.

"Better than Isaac's dumb plan," Alyson muttered, noticing Sadie's slump shoulders. "He was going to go in with only hope that they wouldn't blow his brains out."

Isaac scoffed, pausing his drawing with the dust of the car window. "Says the one who was going to go in guns blazing but with a hatchet."

Sadie stifled a giggle with a sharp inhale. She closed the door of the car, waiting for Alyson.

"We all had shit plans, okay? Next time, we make a plan all together," she huffed, arching a brow. She held out a fist. It reminded Sadie of before. Before Alyson changed.

The two other teens locked eyes before bumping their fists together and smiled. Some sense of normalcy eased Sadie's mind. It may have been simple and short, but still helped.

And that was good enough for her.

The teens separated at one point, spotting things they wanted or needed and claiming their mark on it before anyone else could.

Not that anyone stopped them. The adults didn't have it in them to even think about taking away the little things that made the kids happy. Whether it was a shirt of a band they listened to before, or a car accessory, they didn't dare take that away from them. They didn't have much, why take what they have left?

"Do you like those?" a woman, who Sadie soon learned to be named Lori Grimes, asked intently, pointing at the shoes the girl found.

Sadie flinched at her sudden appearance, but calmed herself once she realized there was no danger. She nodded and looked down at the shoes she wore. "These ones won't last much longer."

A flicker to the woman's shoes, which were in a similar state to hers. "Unless you'd like them?"

"No!" Lori exclaimed swiftly as if it was an offensive thing to ask. Sadie tilted her head. "I'm fine, I promise. If you want something, you take it, sweetheart. Even if I don't like the idea of taking from the dead, you need those."

The girl smiled softly. "Thank you."

Involuntarily, Sadie stayed near the mothers - the other one being Carol - and their kids. They felt like home. They were kind to her. It was obvious that it was their maternal instincts. Their children, Carl and Sophia were close in age, about three or four years younger than the teens. They bonded in the beginning of it all and stayed close. That was probably all anyone could ask for in Sadie's opinion. She knew she would have gone mad without Isaac or Alyson.

"Carl, stay where I can see you," Lori instructed as the young boy let go of her hand to adventure.

"You too, Sophia."

Sadie smiled at the small interaction. It reminded her of her mom. Despite her being fourteen years older, she kept up the typical mom behavior. Sometimes she would titter into the friend's side; taking Sadie out of school to hang out at the mall or letting the girl stay out later than normal for a guy or girl. Jessica Fontaine knew what type of mom she wanted to be at a young age. And if she was here, she probably wouldn't relate to Lori or Carol.

"Do you have any siblings, Sadie?" Lori asked. She grabbed a few items of clothes she thought were nice from the back of an SUV.

The girl shrugged, stuffing her pockets with pill bottles. She didn't bother reading the labels since Alyson was the one who knew what they could possibly need or should discard. "Foster siblings but none that stuck."

"Are you..." Carol started, not knowing if it was something to ask.

"Yeah, I'm adopted. My mom didn't like the idea of a human growing inside of her, so as soon as she could she tried adoption," she explained plainly, finding an odd comfort in repeating her story as she did before.

But the typical 'aw's' or 'I'm happy for you' never followed after. Instead the new gaze of pity was given to her. The look that said 'I'm sorry for your possible loss'.

"I don't know if she's alive or not but I doubt she'd go down without a fight."

The two women smiled, still with pity but also admiration for how the girl spoke about her mom. Sadie wanted nothing more than to look her mom in the eyes again, to be seen as her little girl and fall into her arms and cry because she knew it was safe to. But there was a part of her that knew if she ever saw her again, she wouldn't be able to see her daughter.

She would see someone else.

When Sadie wandered towards her friends again, Isaac had found himself in a conversation with Dale about his RV. Glenn was with them, but the man didn't understand what the two were talking about. Alyson, on the other hand, stayed to herself. She kept her eyes open for her friends and glared at Shane while scavenging.

Sadie teased her when she walked by the van and dropped off her loot. Alyson scowled, but a small curl of her lips was spotted.

In celebration - and slightly fear - of that reaction, Sadie went off towards T-Dog as she remembered seeing a family car with toys. It made her stomach ache thinking of the kids who were taken too soon or lost and alone. And here she was about to take their last memories of something good. She wanted to find something for Sophia and Carl. Sophia had a stuffed animal already, but a kid couldn't have too many stuffed animals.

She found a Spider-Man figure in the van. The figure reminded her of home. The room beside the living-room filled with tubs of toys left from different kids and bought from her mom. Spider-Man was one that was always in her home somewhere.

She sighed, deeming the car as useless. She stuffed the toy in her pocket, heading toward a van with all the doors open. The first thing she found was a glock in the glove compartment. The moment she put it in her hand, she knew it was full. Heavy and unused. Her eyes inspected every inch of it, noting the details that were always on those types of guns. It weighed more the longer she looked at it.

She stuffed it back in the glove compartment and closed it.

Sadie managed to find a few more pain medicines. They all varied amounts but it was enough for the groups to split. Now her pockets were filled with medicine. Thank god for men's jackets. Every time she moved, she jingled.

Something bumped into a nearby car. Sadie scrunched her eyebrows. The two mothers and their kids were a little ways away at another car. No one else was around.

Another bump. Then another.

Sadie stretched her head, spotting three creeps coming her way. She slowly stepped backward as her eyes tracked the dead. More stumbled near. She could only watch.

The dead were just like her only a few months ago. They breathed, blinked, thought, and lived. They were once human.

They were. And not they weren't.

"Sadie," Rick said, unfreezing the girl from that moment. He ushered her underneath a car without another word, following right behind her. He raised his finger over his mouth as the dead moved around them.

Bumping into cars, each other, they groaned with the urge to feed. They were nothing but a mindless shell that resorted to the primal core of all things: to be the predator against the prey.

The teenager clamped her hand over her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut as she laid on her back on the asphalt. Biting her tongue for extra measures of silence. This was her new world. The world that would stop at nothing to destroy those who deserved it.

This was their Hell.

A hand rested over her shoulder. She peeled open her eyes, finding Rick. He nodded to her and mouthed, "it's okay."

Hope. Even in Hell, there was hope.

Sadie nodded, shifting her eyes to the car above. As the dead moved on to fulfill their hunger, Sadie kept her eyes open. She heard every groan, stumble, and bump until there was silence. True silence.

Looking at Rick once more, his attention was elsewhere. More specifically, Sophia. The child believed it all to be over as she scouted from underneath the car.

But the nightmare was far from finished.

A creep lunged for her. Sophia cried out, clutching on to her bear. Fight or flight kicked in. She chose flight.

In a blink, Sophia disappeared off the highway. With another, Rick rushed from underneath the car and after her. Sadie blinked once more to ensure it was real.

Carol's cries were the tell it was true. "Lori, there's two walkers after my baby." Lori shushed her, clamping her hand over her mouth.

Too much noise.

There may have been hope in Hell, but it was still Hell. No one was safe from suffering.

Alyson wasn't fond of blood. The slick, crimson liquid that stained as if it had claws that dug deep. It refused to let out once it attached.

Growing up, scrapes and scars found their home on any smooth skin. Blood casted over pale skin, molding it anew; but never fixed it. Alyson spent time learning how to stitch up wounds and how to treat them. Her brothers had their fair share of bloody noses and bruises, cuts and nasty wounds from God knows what.

Still, she hated blood. The way it melted into your skin, marking its place into walls and floors that soaked it all up.

She forced herself to ignore that as she wrapped T-Dog's wounded arm with her flannel. Yellow turned red in an instant. The dead neared, smelling his blood. They were stuck in the middle of three broken cars, soon to be surrounded.

T-Dog needed medical attention, but they needed to live in order for that to happen.

"Shit," Alyson cussed, yanking her axe into position. Dying wasn't on her to-do list today. Especially, without knowing where Sadie and Isaac were, or if they were okay. T-Dog was in no condition to continue moving. His wound pumped out less and less amount of blood, most likely due to how quick his heart was beating.

Then, Daryl appeared out of nowhere, stalking behind a flipped over vehicle. He moved silently. He placed his crossbow on the hood of a car and stabbed the Creep in the base of its head. Thank you, Redneck.

"Hey!" the redneck, Daryl, whisper-yelled, waving Alyson to help him. T-Dog gasped, getting another dizzy spell. There wasn't enough time to move. Daryl signaled for them to stay silent. He crept forward and pulled T-Dog to the ground.

Alyson hesitantly put her axe away and aided him in moving a dead body over T-Dog. He motioned for her to lay down for the same protection. She complied. This was disgusting.

It's head rested by her neck, leaning in like a lover. Its hair caressed her heated cheeks. The dried blood brushed against her. Each second felt like an eternity. The dead dragged themselves through the highway, filling the air with the stench of death.

Alyson squeezed her eyes shut. She wondered if her friends were okay, if they found a place to hide and would be there once they regrouped. She prayed for that relief.

There were days she wanted nothing more than for them to disappear, but she didn't mean it. She didn't want that. Every second felt like an eternity, and every moment of that she was filled with regret for even thinking that.

Once the dead passed, Alyson shoved the body off of her. T-Dog's blood smudged over her arms. Even if she attempted to wipe it, it wouldn't go away.

Gun shot. Blood splatter. Body dropped.

It was happening all over again, wasn't it?

Again. Again. Again.

Blood everywhere.

"Kid, hey! Help me with T," Daryl instructed, annoyed she was dazing out but there was a hint of understanding. "C'mon!"

Alyson shuffled onto her feet. She placed her hand on T-Dog's back and the other gently over his wound to apply pressure. The man let out a moan, flinching from the pain. "Don't start crying like a baby. Pressure helps."

"Doesn't mean it don't hurt," T-Dog complained to the girl with a wince.

A cry rippled through the highway. Alyson didn't recognize the voice. She snapped her eyes to the two men. They knew the source.

"We need to hurry. That was Sophia," Daryl grunted, forcing T-Dog to move quicker. It only slowed them down more.

Alyson huffed, shaking her head. "If we go any faster, he'll lose more blood."

"You a doctor or something, kid?" Daryl snapped, narrowing his eyes at her.

She fought back with a glare. "I obviously know more than your hick ass." Daryl's stare turned into a heat look. A look Alyson knew all too well. He looked tempted to drop T-Dog and leave her. Honestly that would be a better idea.

"Just go! They might need help," she said, letting go of her side of T-Dog to switch to the other. She forced him to switch places. He looked conflicted, still angry. "We'll be fine."

"Go, man. I can-we can handle this, Sophia can't," T-Dog added. Daryl trusted him, not a lot but enough to listen.

Alyson shifted the man's weight as Daryl ran towards the group. She glared at him until he disappeared. "God, I hate Georgia."

After some long minutes and walking, Isaac, Glenn, and Sadie found Alyson and T-Dog. The two boys swept under T-Dog's arms to relieve both him and Alyson from his weight.

Sadie focused on Alyson, grabbing her by the sides of her face with eyes washed in concern. "Are you okay?"

She cared. More than anyone Alyson had known. Sadie always cared for her. It swelled her heart up, consuming it until it drowned in an emotion Alyson didn't understand. It left her confused. She hated that.

She pulled away from Sadie's hands, ignoring the hurt flashing over her face. "I'm fine."

Sadie nodded gratefully, following the boys back to the others. That's when the cries became clearer and louder. Sophia was being chased by walkers and Carol had no choice but to cry silently into Lori's hand.

Alyson's heart hurt for the girl and her mother. Carol's cries hurt. She was a mother who feared for her child's life and there was nothing she could do but rely on someone else to protect her baby. She didn't know if Sophia was okay, or if she would ever be okay again. She didn't know if that would be the last time she would see her daughter.

It hurt because Alyson and her friends were Sophia. Hundreds of miles away from their mothers, who didn't know if their children would be okay.

Alyson forced herself to focus on what she could do.

The girl looked at the adults. Lori held onto Carol with one hand and used the other to cover Carl's eyes. Andrea, Glenn, and Dale sat T-Dog against a car. "I need fishing wire, or-or something like that and a needle to stitch up his wound."

Dale looked at her bewildered. "You know how to stitch a wound?"

Alyson glanced at Isaac. Her heart beated in her ears, almost becoming louder than her surroundings. She nodded with a gulp. "Had three brothers and working parents, someone had to learn how to keep them out of the hospital, sir."

The older man nodded, telling Glenn where to find what Alyson needed. The man was fast. In a blink, Alyson went from standing with her hands shaking to them being still as she weaved the fishing line through his dark skin, wincing as T-Dog cried into the cloth he bit into. Thankfully, Glenn grabbed some alcohol to disinfect the wire and needle.

"How long will that hold?" Sadie questioned, crouching down beside Alyson. The man's blood stained her arms and hands, some spotted on her face.

Alyson forced herself to look away. She shook her head, tying off the stitch. She hadn't done a suture in months, and when she did it was only on fake skin. "Not long. Fishing wire is too thick compared to what hospitals use. Plus, I'm not exactly a surgeon." She looked up to Lori, finding the woman to be the only one with a clear mind. "We need to get him help."

The woman nodded. "Glenn, you think you can get to the others and check if they're okay?"

Glenn nodded, grabbing his gun.

Isaac grabbed his arm. "I'll go with you. No one should be going anywhere alone with the hoard not that far." Glenn nodded.

The two girls stood up instantaneously. "No," Sadie argued first, reaching out to stop him, "we shouldn't split up."

There wasn't a chance in hell Sadie would allow for the trio to split up. They hadn't before, why would they start now.

Alyson placed her hand on Sadie's shoulder, putting on a brave face. "They need as many eyes as they can get to look for Sophia, Sadie. We'll be fine."

Sadie was hesitant, but agreed. "Stay safe...Both of you."

The remaining members stayed on the highway. Fear and worry filled them all, pouring out of the pores in the form of sweat. The two teens still hadn't got used to the Georgia weather, always hot and humid.

Not long before the sun started to dip, Glenn, Shane, and Isaac returned. They gave promises that Sophia would be okay, that the others would find her. Sadie and Alyson knew it was only fluffy words to keep them calm.

Shane was the first to usher that they get back to work. He immediately ordered everyone to help him move the cars out of the way to create a path for Dale's RV. Alyson stayed with T-Dog since she was the only person with any medical experience - which was summer medical classes she took to get out of the house.

While everyone worked to get the path clear and continue to scavenge, Carol stayed put in her spot, gazing out into the woods in hope of her daughter resurging. Sophia would run up the hill and fall into her mom's arms with tears running down her face.

But it never happened.

Sadie blew out her cheeks as she lifted a crate of cans out of the trunk of a car. Different types of beans and corn. God, who knew an array of flavors would cause her heart to flutter. An array of flavors was a stretch if she was being honest. All of it was bland without seasoning. It reminded her too much of eating over at Alyson's house.

The girl watched as Carol spoke to Dale and Shane about them working instead of searching for her daughter. She felt bad, sharing a look with her two friends who felt the same.

"I'm still freaked out from the herd that passed us by-or whatever you'd call it," Andrea said, tossing Glenn a water bottle.

Sadie nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, what was that?" Glenn questioned, making the teens share another look. "All of them just marching along like that?"

"You guys have never seen one of those before?" Isaac inquired, hopping out of the truck he just moved. The adults shook their heads.

"You guys are lucky. We see them all the time on the roads. Forces us to hide out for days sometimes," Alyson explained before taking a sip of her water. "They probably herd together because of each other's noise."

"A herd. That sounds about right," Shane muttered, before a thought crossed his mind. "No, we've seen it. It's like the night camp got attacked, some wandering pack, only fewer."

Sadie didn't miss Andrea's face fell at the mention of their camp - old camp, obviously. They have lost people, as did most people who were alive now. There was nothing they could do about it but continue to live. And if they didn't, they would become the dead.

"Okay," Shane said, clearing his throat. "Come on, people. We still got a lot to do. Let's stay on it."

And just like that, they started again. They moved cars around after looting them and splitting the finds between the larger group and the trio. Small arguments would spark between the two groups about the amount they would split. It wasn't anything about it being unfair, but instead the teenagers not wanting to take more than they needed. They got by with two meals a day, sometimes sharing meals if they needed to. The bigger group needed more food, but they didn't have it in them to take more.

But it wasn't hard to notice that those sparks were caused by the heat, the lack of food in everyone's stomachs and the fear as night inched closer.

Sadie opted to stay apart from the others. She stayed close but not close enough for anyone to engage in conversation with her. She scavenged as she watched the group. There was no trust, not yet at least. She knew nothing about them as they knew nothing about her.

However, she noticed things. Like the way Lori and Shane argued away from others after Carl stomped away. They looked like they used to be close, then something happened to change that. Shane was Rick's best friend, who happened to be married to Lori. Whatever relationship they had...it didn't seem like it was just friendly.

Shane turned on the vehicle he was fixing and the radio turned on.

"This is a civil emergency."

Sadie wondered closer. She thought the broadcasts ended after a month in. Or at least that's when they stopped playing. She would switch through the radio channels in hopes of something new, a sign for safety or an answer to fix their problems. Nothing ever came.

"Is that a local signal?" Glenn asked as he and the other came towards the sound.

"It's gotta be within fifty miles of here," Dale answered.

"Avoid anyone infected at all costs. Remain calm. Help is on the way."

"Unless it's automatic," Alyson stated as the message repeated itself. Her words crushed hope. "Doubt it's anyone who is broadcasting it is still alive."

Shane agreed, which made the Ford girl roll her eyes. He turned off the car. "Okay, let's get back to work."

Isaac moved the van closer to Dale's RV. To keep a sense of safety as Shane put it. They needed as many eyes as they could for as long as Sophia was missing. Not to mention it was safer for all of them.

The teenagers agreed, as well as agreed to staying with the group until they found Sophia. They wanted to make sure the girl was safe. It was a heavy guilt to carry if they drove away, not knowing if the young girl was okay or if the mother would see her daughter again.

If they were being honest, they wanted, they hoped for the two to have a reunion because that meant there was a possibility of them reuniting with their family.

It was hope.

Or at least what was left of it.

Daryl and Rick trudged up the hill, meeting with Carol. Everyone gathered near, fearing running through their veins as they came close without a third trailing behind.

Carol winced, her heart cracking in that moment. "You didn't find her?"

"Her trail went cold," Rick revealed, hesitantly. He probably wished to never speak again then to tell a mother her daughter was lost. Because he lost her. "We'll pick it up again at first light."

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own. To spend the night alone in the woods," Carol spoke, her voicing cracking.

"Out in the dark searching is no good," Daryl added to aid their reasoning. "We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost."

"But she's twelve," Carol stated. Sadie frowned. "She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?" Lori reached out for Carol, taking her into her arms to comfort her.

Rick continued, wanting to comfort the woman despite knowing the odds of Sophie survival were dropping as the sun left. "I know this is hard, but I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there."

"And we tracked her for a while," Daryl pointed out. He was worried, even if he didn't quite show it, he was.

"We have to make this an organized effort," Rick told the group. "Daryl Knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this."

Carol wasn't listening. She focused on Daryl's appearance. "Is that-is that blood?" Her breathing became heavier and more rapid as neither man said anything with as much speed as they did when they were trying to calm her down.

Rick nodded. "We took down a walker."

"Walker? Oh, my god," Carol let out, trying to find a way out to walk away.

"There was no sign of it ever anywhere near Sophia," Rick explained, hoping to calm her down.

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked, stepping on the cracking glass that held hope. The small feeble thing that dwindled.

For once, Rick didn't know what to say. He looked at Daryl for help, which the man quickly aided.

"We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure."

Carol moved out of Lori's hold, closing her eyes in relief as she sat down on the metal guard. Lori sat down next to her.

Sadie wanted to help, do anything she could, but she stayed in her spot between Isaac and Alyson. She watched as the mother's world ended for a second time.

"How could you just leave her out there to begin with?" Carol accused in anger. "How could you just leave her?"

"Those two walkers were on us," Rick started as calmly as he could. "I had to draw them off. It was her best chance."

Shane walked over, knowing the woman was a loose Canon. They didn't know what she would do if they didn't calm her. "Sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol."

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own?" Carol asked, wanting to know the man's reasoning. "She's just a child. She's just a child," she repeated, moving her head down as Rick knelt onto the asphalt.

"It was my only option. The only choice I could make."

"I'm sure nobody doubts that," Shane said, wanting to come off as defending his friend but didn't. Because if any of them truly spoke their mind, they believed Rick could have saved Sophia and took down the walkers.

No one spoke for a moment as realization hit. They wouldn't find Sophia tonight. And they probably won't find her again. Sadie sniffled, clenching her teeth to keep tears from falling. She couldn't cry. Not now at least.

A hand slipped into hers. Alyson. The girl didn't look at her as she held her hand, instead she kept her focus on Carol.

"My little girl got left in the woods," Carol choked out, trying to hold back her tears.

No one knew what to say or do. Some walked away to get away from the emotions, some stayed and comforted Carol. Sadie walked away, hand over her mouth as teats rushed down her face.

Carol was like her mother, and she was like Sophia. While she didn't leave because of the dead chasing her, she left because of something she had to do. She was the one who did it, and she had to leave because of it.

Sadie remembered her phone constantly ringing without end until it died. She didn't charge it, knowing once it turned back on she would just see the amount of calls her mom left. Jessica Fontaine was scared for her daughter. She would leave voice-mails that Sadie never got to listen to.

She regretted it. She regretted not charging her phone again. She regretted not telling her mom a thing. She didn't regret what she did. She only regretted the people she hurt because of it.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as Sadie realized she couldn't remember her mother's voice. There were bits and pieces she remembered, like her yelling at her for making a mess of the bathroom. But, she tried hard to remember her voice at night, talking to her about the day they would have planned the next day. She tried to remember her voice as she cooked pancakes on Sunday. She tried.

But she still couldn't hear her voice.

And that night she cried, staring up at the names as if they were stars that would lead her home. Sadie cried for Sophia and Carol, for her mom and Isaac's and Alyson's families. She cried for herself. She cried because she didn't know what else to do.

༻✧༺

and we're back! (I say for the 3rd time on my second fic) this chapter is incredibly long and I'm both sorry and not sorry for you having to read all 5k words of this.

I've missed this trio so much, I just physically could not put words onto that Google doc while Shane Fucking Walsh was on my screen. with that being said, have I ever told you guys how much I hate Shane Walsh? no, well know that I nearly cried because I told myself I would write this chapter after watching my favorite show, and guess what that show is? yes, you guessed right, the punisher. and for those who don't know, Jon bernthal plays the punisher. and if you also didn't know, I fucking love Jon bernthal (mostly bc he plays the punisher (I really fucking love the punisher)). so you can understand why I almost cried.

not only that being the reason why I haven't written anything new for this fic, but I just don't like season 2. season 1 and 2 aren't my favorites, nothing really important happens here besides yknow the set up of the apocalypse and relationships. which is why I'm writing season 2 instead of just skipping to season 3, if I started on season 1, yall definitely would never get another update ever LMAO.

ANYWAY, enough of me talking. I hope you guys like this chapter, like the new layout, etc. etc.

please tell me your thoughts, theories, or just random shit, I love your comments, they help motivate me to keep writing.

okay, now I'm going back to the punisher <3