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                    A SMALL CITY. THAT'S what Sadie thinks of the prison as. A small city of people she once knew under the thumb of someone they all once trusted. Now, they all sit with the same feeling; betrayal.

               This new, rotten world runs on it. It's how Sadie got this far. She betrayed her sister on the day of the fall, she betrayed Nellie and Michonne by saying was Woodbury was safe, she betrayed Merle and she paid the price.

         But her betrayal to The Governor is why her feet are planted on the ground beside Koa, Carl and Beth. The long scar down her forearm tingles. Rose, there's no way she'd forget you.

Though, sometimes it's easier to. Rose's death was her fault. Logically, maybe not but for someone who has had nothing but a plate of responsibility since she left the womb—everything wrong is Sadie Finch's fault.

                           It has to be.

                "That Lizzie girl—she's not all there in the noggin, is she?" Koa taps her temple as she speaks, looking out into the courtyard full of people. Lizzie is currently speaking to Mika about something. Probably convincing her not to eat the deer because that also has a name for all Koa knows. Beth and Sadie both share an exasperated sigh. "Would you stop? She's a kid. I already told you, Koa," Sadie scolds.

         Koa throws her hands in the air, "I'm aware. Very aware. It just—concerns me. Mika is a nice kid. They both are but little sisters," Her eyes drift to Sadie, "They look up to their older ones. No kid needs to die because they didn't understand the world."

                  "Isn't that kinda the beauty in it? Morbid, maybe but I'd rather die not knowing why I was being bit or something. Just—maybe ignorance is bliss for a kid that age in this world," Beth speaks with so much optimism that it strikes Koa in the heart. Whatever opinion she had two seconds ago has been wavered by Beth and that honey coated country accent she loves. Sadie watches Koa's eyes light up with every word dropped from Beth's lips. 

           The brunette's lips twitch and then she remembers Zach and how nice Zach is and how unfair that is that she can't hate him. Because Koa, after five months in a peaceful environment, has accepted her crush on Beth Greene.

           "No," Carl interrupts the moment. Children. All three girls pause, shifting their attention to the boy who's grown almost to Beth's height at this point. Koa knits her eyebrows together, "Would you like to elaborate?"

      Carl shrugs, turning to her, "No," He says and walks away from the three. All Koa does is blink. Sadie lands her hands on her hips and Beth just shakes her head.

     "That's a weird child. He's not all there in the noggin either," Koa points right at Carl with no shame but Beth forces her hand down by her side. "Don't be rude, Koa," Beth remarks but she can hear the stifling of the giggle in the blonde's throat. "Yeah, listen to her. You won't listen to me!" Sadie rolls her eyes.

             "Okay, Rapunzel, let's not get too yappy," Koa says, using her hand to imitate Sadie's mouth as she opens and closes it quickly. "Yappy? I'm not gettin' yappy!" Sadie scoffs. Koa clicks her tongue, "She's still yappin'," She looks towards Beth with a fake stern look. The Greene girl takes a physical step back from the two sisters and swallows her laugh again. "Behave. Especially you, Koa," Beth points to her crystal blue eyes and then to the Finch girl.

     Her face beams with a smile before Beth shuffles away. Koa watches her with every step. "Creep," Sadie whispers. The younger sister clicks her tongue, "Won't you fuck off?" She slightly pushes her sister. "No can do, bucka-roo!" Sadie drags out the last word, following Koa around the courtyard of people she shares the same sentiment with.

      CART WHEELS RATTLE AS Michonne turns the corner. Nellie holds her breath as she hides behind a cardboard cutout of a walker.

                       It's childish. But Nellie isn't one to be childish in the first place. So, she can enjoy attempting to scare her tough mother. Plus, it's some sort of payback for the shit her mom pulled earlier. That's how Nellie will justify this. Finally, Michonne is close enough.

                           "BOO!" Nellie exclaims as she jumps from behind the cutout. Her mother gasps, taking a few steps back. A string of warm giggles fall from Nellie as she holds her stomach. "Nells, move," Michonne snaps.

                      "Wha—it was just a joke, ma!"

                      "Oh, just move!" Michonne rolls her eyes but Nellie complies and moves beside her mother. In the blink of an eye and with a loud crash, the katana is down the middle of the walker cutout. Nellie stares with wide eyes, "I bet the ones on the way to Macon will be worse." Michonne cringes, coldness settling over her at her child's passive remark. The playfulness that had settled on them a minute ago has been sucked away.

                       "Nellie, it's for your safety. Sadie's safety. He killed Andrea," Michonne softly tells her but Nellie's angered face doesn't falter. "Sadie herself said it's too dangerous. Daryl did. Your daughter—me—hi!" Nellie waves at herself, "...says it's dangerous. For all we know he's a corpse walking this Earth. I want him dead. I want to know he's dead as well but you can't keep searchin'. If he consumes you, he wins," Nellie finishes with a shake of her head. Her back is turned to her mother as she walks away from the beat up cutout.

                       It sucks. That sinking feeling in Nellie's stomach never seems to go away. It stays dormant until it decides to eat her alive. It sucks being mad at her mom because everything could go wrong so quickly, she could lose her mom while being mad at her and Nellie would never forgive herself for it.

                       CRASH

                     Glass shatters. Her heart drops. Just as quickly as the first crash happens, there's an even bigger and louder one. It's mixed with yelling and then a thud that shakes the whole building. Or it could be Nellie's slight tremble as she reaches for her cleaver. At what feels like the speed of light, Nellie runs towards where her mother was a second ago. But when she sees Michonne unscratched, Nellie cocks her head back in confusion.

                     "What happened?" They hear Glenn call out. "Everyone's alright. We're over in wine and beer!" Daryl announces. Both girls race over to the area to see a knocked down shelf, glass and dark red liquid seeping from under it. Nellie almost mistakes it for blood until the smell of fermented grapes smacks her in the face. With ease, Daryl and Tyreese remove the shelf to reveal Bob being the victim of the wine shelf.

                        Nellie stays quiet, looking for a way to help Bob get out of here safely with his now injured leg. "If it had landed on you any other way—"

                   The roof begins to shake, cutting off Tyreese and with the third crash of the day, the flimsy tiles fall through along with a walker strung up by his own bloody intestines. It snarls as it swings back and forth. Its dark blood pools onto the floor beneath it. Nellie fears its determination will get it down to their level for its lunch. "That's nasty," The teen girl whispers. The scent of wine and rotting carcasses she'll never get used to combine together to flood their noses with the awful stench.

                      "Uh, we should probably get out of here," Glenn states. "Bob's still stuck! Get him out of there!" Daryl yells. Nellie's heart is beating out of her chest, palms sweaty as her eyes lock onto the shaking roof tiles above them.

                      "We'll get the others. Nellie stay by–"

                     But the sword wielder is cut off by another tile collapsing, bringing another walker with it. Nellie stumbles back, hand instinctively finding her mother"s like the scared child she hides inside. Then, another and another. The roof is caving in above them. Nellie feels trapped. The walkers rain from the sky with their loud snarls, hungry to feast on the crowd of prey. Debris is flying up into the air but coughs are stuck in Nellie's throat by fear.

                      Nellie is pushed back and away from the walkers until one lands right by her feet, exploding on impact. She closes her mouth as the blood splatters but it coats her skin and clothes as well as some of her mother's. She can distantly hear Bob screaming for help but between all the crashing and banging, it just becomes another noise racking around Nellie's panicked brain.

                      Michonne's grip tightens around her arm. Their eyes speed over to all the possible exits but any single one of them is blocked by another thud of a walkers body. Glenn runs off against everyone's wishes. This is a paralyzing fear, one Nellie hasn't felt in a long time thanks to the safety of the prison.

                  "Don't let go of me!" Michonne shouts. Nellie nods with a gulp, letting her mother drag her around the walker infested store. Shots go off, lighting up the small area they're in. With ease, Michonne slices through walkers, beheading them.

                    Nellie hears snarls behind her. Her heart drops to her feet. The walker is mere inches away from her as she turns to face its snarling frame. She has no choice but to let go of Michonne. With a heavy swing, Nellie drives the blade of her cleaver into its mushy head.

                    She drives into its head until it falls apart, splitting down the middle as even more dark, crimson blood splatters across the side of the teen girl's face. The monsters won't stop coming, like an endless supply of them are reigning above them.

                  There's a rough tug on the back of Nellie's pants. She yelps in pain, falling to the ground when the walker pulls her down. Its legs are lost from its body, guts spilling out from its torn abdomen. Nellie flips herself from her belly to her back and with her free boot, she kicks the walkers hand off the hem of her jeans. The arm splits from the body as she pulls herself to her feet. "Fucker!" Nellie exclaims, slamming her black combat boot into the head of the walker until its mush against the ground.

                         Her ears are ringing from the constant gunshots and Bob still isn't safe. When Nellie goes to run, a pain in her knee stops her. A loud gasped wince leaves her mouth but with gritted teeth, she forces herself to run back towards the group. "Nellie!" Michonne shouts, tears brimming her eyes.

                     Nellie speeds up her staggered walk, driving her cleaver into walkers that get too close. She turns the corner to be met by her mother's panicked eyes. Relief washes over her for two reasons; she's found the group and her mom and, they are finally moving the shelf off of Bob.

                   Glenn, who's in reaching distance of Nellie, tugs her to his side, pulling further away from the danger and closer to her mom. "You alright?" Michonne asks, wiping blood from her child's face. Nellie swallows the dryness in her mouth, "My knee is a bit busted. I'll be okay," She assures her, hiding the searing pain in the appendage for the sake of her mom and Bob.

                        Zach and Daryl lift the shelf off of Bob right as the ceiling seems to be giving out even further. They're coated in dust, causing Nellie to cough. Once a tile falls all too close to Nellie, Michonne tries to tug her daughter to the exit. "Ah!" Someone screams. Nellie spins around, gasping when a walker bites into the calf of Zach. Chills run down her spine at his screams as he is pulled to the ground by the hungry creature. "Zach!" Glenn yells as he goes to help but it's too late.

                          Nellie watches with tear brimmed eyes, someone her age, someone she spent time with, falls to the death of the world. The walker pulls him apart, blood pooling around him. His screams fill Nellie's head and before she even realizes it, she's being pulled away from her dying friend and out of the collapsing store.

                       They reach the outside and Nellie winces with every step. The image of Zach is burned in to her mind. The same thing happened to her and she didn't die. No one needed to die.

                 Yet, Zach is. Beth's boyfriend. A friend. She has friends now and she just lost one of them. Michonne doesn't stop, she leads Nellie all the way to the car as the walkers fill the fenced in area.

                   Nellie feels weak. Emotionally and physically. She feels dizzy with pain, dizzy with heartache. A year ago, she wouldn't have cared that Zach died but here she is–crying over the boy's brutal death as blood from a deep cut works its way into her boot.

                        CARL AND KOA LISTEN from behind some bookshelves as Carol reads some story to the kids, including Patrick.

                     Eavesdropping? Yes. But Koa would rather call it spying. Sounds cooler and like it'll get them in less trouble. There's a man Koa remembers as Bill standing in the corner. He makes a motion, letting Carol know he is departing and then leaves the library. Carl and Koa share a quick glance with a perplexed eyebrow raise. As soon as Bill is gone, Carol closes the book in her hands.

                        Carl insisted something else was happening at this book club of sorts, that's why he dragged Koa with him. To prove her right.

                      Carl quietly moves closer, Koa right behind him as they spy between the shelves. "Ma'am, should take watch now?" The little boy named Luke asks. Watch? Watch for what? Adults?

                   Koa knits her eyebrows together, frown deepening when Carol tells Luke to get on watch duty. When Carol opens the green chest she sits on, Koa's eyes widen. "Today, we are talking about knives," Carol says. The duo's eyes nearly bulge from their heads. She rolls them next, accepting that Carl might have been right.

                       ".......how to use them, how to be safe with them and how they could save your life," Carol adds. A twinge of guilt hits Koa's heart. Carol is probably teaching these kids this stuff so they don't end up like Sophia, her little girl. Her only child that fell victim to this world. Koa will never forget that day. The rage that filled her uncle as he left walkers spill from the Greene family's barn. How little Sophia stumbled out from it with glossed over eyes, a little girl no more.

                      But still, this is dangerous. Kids shouldn't handle knives. Guns. Nothing.

                 Something twists in Koa's stomach, knowing this could go wrong at some point. Shane insisted Carl know how to use a gun and he shot a surrendering teenage boy. No one needs a repeat of that.

                    "Ma'am, may I be dismissed?" Patrick asks from his chair. "What is it?" Carol questions. "I'm not feeling very well," Patrick says. "Sometimes you're gonna have to fight through it," Carol shrugs, "What if you wind up out there alone? You just give up because you're feeling bad?"

                         Koa narrows her eyes on Patrick. His skin seems paler than from before and when he says something about yacking on someone, Koa knows he's truly sick and not trying to get out of these odd extra curriculars Carol is running. Carol lets him go.

                   Carl moves forward and when Koa goes to pull him back, Carol has already spotted him. With a sharp exhale, Koa is next to reveal herself. Raising an eyebrow at the blade in Carol's hand in front of a group of kids all younger than Carl and herself.

                        The woman stops mid sentence, jaw hanging open at how she's been caught by two of Rick Grimes' kids. Wordlessly, the two walk over to her and a desperate looks falls upon Carol's face. "Please, don't tell your father," Carol begs. Carl shakes his head, huffing and stomping passed Koa. Carol drifts her attention to the girl, "Koa, please don't." The teen bites the insides of her cheeks, an eternal battle falling within her. Instead of words, Koa shrugs, leaving Carol with a bundle of anxiety.

                        CERTAIN PEOPLE DESERVE TO die, Nellie knows this very well. Zach wasn't one of them. Her head is a mess as Sadie bandages up the deep cut she received earlier. Thankfully, no stitches are needed but according to her mom and Hershel, it was more than likely split open by glass so they'll have to keep an eye on it for protection.

                  "His screams—they won't—go away," Nellie whispers, wincing when Sadie wraps the bandage tighter. The blonde looks up at her apologetically, "I'm sorry. Sorry you had to see that. Sorry you had to—hear it. Everything," Sadie says softly, "He was kind."

                   Tears coat Nellie"s waterline again but she wipes them before they can expose themselves. "That could've been me. A walker dragged me down. Why didn't I die?" Nellie questions her thought aloud. Sadie blinks a few times, a careful hand resting on her close friend's unharmed knee, "I–It wasn't your time yet–"

                 "But it was Zach's? No one should have died–"

                   "I know. I know," Sadie holds Nellie gently by the shoulders. It wasn't Rose's yet either but she can't think of anything else to ease Nellie so, Sadie keeps quiet, rubbing small circles into her shoulders that still have dried blood on them.

                    Heavy boots make their way over to the cell. Daryl stops with saddened eyes, "You alright, Nellie?" He points to her knee. She merely shrugs, "Guess so." The man nods slowly, looking around for a moment, "I, uh, I'm sorry you had to see that. Sorry I couldn't–I didn't–"

                  "Not your fault, Daryl," Sadie gently tells him with a small smile. Nellie loudly sighs, "Shit happens. Does Beth know?"

                   Daryl grunts, "I'm 'bout to tell her." Ignoring the pain, Nellie pushes herself to stand, "I'll come with." Before anyone can object, Nellie limps over with Daryl to Koa and Beth's shared cell, a solemn Sadie behind them.

                   Seeing Daryl, Nellie and Sadie in the doorway peaks the two girl's attention. There's a look of almost regret across all their faces though that makes Koa sick. "Hey," Beth sweetly says from the bottom bunk. "What's going on?" Koa asks, swinging her feet from her top bunk. Her eyes fall to the bandage around Nellie's leg, watching as blood begins to soak the seemingly fresh bandage already. "Hi," Daryl gruffly says. No one speaks for a moment, making Beth and Koa anxious. 

              "What is it?" Beth impatiently asks, putting down her pen. The three exchange a look, one that makes Koa hop of her bunk with crossed arms. Daryl sighs, "Zach," He says and the two girls behind him stick their eyes to the ground. Koa's stomach twists with grief. "Is he dead?" Beth callously asks. So blunt that even Koa raises her eyebrows at it.

                       The silence tells Beth yes, her boyfriend is dead and Nellie and Daryl were there to witness it. "Okay," Beth says. Sadie furrows her brows, wondering why Beth seems to blank in her emotions right now. She sits up, body facing Koa's. She gulps, "H–How did he die?" Koa asks.

             "Uh, walker," Nellie hesitates to say, watching Beth go over to the desk of nick-nacks the two girls have collected. Koa pulls roughly at the skin on her lip, looking only at her sister. Beth moves behind her to the 'Days Without An Accident' sign they have displayed.

           With no emotion, she removes the 3 from the sign, changing to from 30 days to 0 days. Koa closes her eyes for a moment. That naiveness she had wished Beth to always have seems to have died out along with the hope that remained in her heart. "What?" Beth asks as everyone stares at her.

     "I don't cry anymore, guys. I'm just–glad I got to know him, y'know?" Beth says, standing next to Koa. Nellie has to walk away. The girl before her reminds her of herself before the prison, when all she had was her mother after the rest died. Maybe even Andrea.

      Sadie nods, gesturing for Koa to come over to her. Koa quickly shuffles passed Beth and Daryl, allowing herself to be engulfed in Sadie's arms. Small tears fall from her eyes, staining her sister's tank top. Sadie rests a kiss to Koa's temple, rocking her gently back and forth.

      "You're okay," Sadie whispers. Koa can't speak, afraid she'll start sobbing so she presses her lips together and buries her head into Sadie's hold. Not knowing that come morning, she'll lose another friend amongst the mess.

———