.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

𝐄 𝐋 𝐋 𝐈 𝐄

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌. Ellie sat on the ground with Beth's arms wrapped around her, violent sobs escaping her mouth. After the last gunshot was fired the shaken blonde forced herself into a standing position. Her legs felt like overcooked pasta and she almost collapsed. She hurried over to the corpse on the ground, which she once had called her mom. She fell to the ground and her knees met the mud. She cried her mother's name as she pulled her tangled and dirty hair out of her pale and bloody face.

She stared at the clothes her mother was carrying. She remembered them so well. That ugly blouse she had begged her mother not to buy or wear. It was now stained with blood and dirt. And her pink baby pink sweater, which she wore to literally everything. If she was going to the beach she wore it, if she was going to a party she wore it. It was now torn apart, leaving big holes in the fabric. And a black skirt. It was actually Ellie's but her mom would always steal her clothes. She said that she loved today's fashion and wanted to be trendy.

"Ma, I'm so sorry." She sobbed as she turned her mother's corpse around. Suddenly, the walker awoke and grabbed hold of Ellie's arms. Her mouth was opened, revealing her rotten teeth.

The group acted quickly and ran to the girl. Levi and Rick pulled the blonde away from the walker as she sobbed and screamed. Glenn tried desperately to force Ellie's mother's hands off her daughter. As soon as Ellie was freed, she fell into her father's arms.

She watched in horror as T-dog kicked the walker in the head multiple times and as it tried to bite Glenn. She pulled out her knife from its holster as she rushed to her mother and jabbing it into her skull before collapsing next to her. She held her mother's lifeless hand as her cry turned into whimpers.

It wasn't fair. None of it was. A few months ago Ellie had been sitting around the dinner table with her family. Laughing and smiling. Life wasn't fair. She knew that. She was blessed to still have most of her family with her. She knew that as well. But her heart ached, and it would never stop.

The group walked with their gaze lowered to the ground. Ellie walked in her father's arms still shaking from the previous events.

"We've been out, we've been combing these woods, looking for her and she was in there all along? You knew." Shane shouted.

"Shane, just stop!" Rick said, gently grabbing his friend's arm.

"Get your hands off me!" Shane shouted, pushing the grimes man off himself before turning to Hershel. "You knew and you kept it from us."

"I didn't know," Hershel said with a shrill voice.

"That's bullshit! I think you all knew." Shane spat at him.

"We didn't know!" Maggie yelled.

"Why was she there?!"

"Otis put those people in the barn. Maybe he found her and put her in there before he was killed." Hershel said as they all stopped.

"Do you expect me to believe that? Do I look like an idiot?" Shane argued.

"I don't care what you believe!" Hershel raised his voice.

"Everybody just calm down," Rick said.

"Get him off my land!"

"Let me tell you something." Shane walked aggressively to the older man, his eyes dark with anger and his fists clenched.

"Hey! Don't touch him!" Ellie stepped between the two and slapped his cheek. A spark of pride rushed through her. Despite that, she still took a few steps back frightened by the thought of Shane's next move. But he just stared at her as he took a step back. He didn't look like he was going to attack but he didn't look scared either.

Ellie turned on her heel and walked through the door. Before it closed she heard her father tell the group: "I mean it, get off my land!"

Ellie laid in her bed with Maggie's arms wrapped around her. Ellie's eyes were swollen and dry from the crying. Feeling Maggie's presence and feeling her hands stroke her blonde hair was calming and healing.

"Mags?" Ellie spoke.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Dad is wrong."

"What?"

"Dad's wrong about this. This whole thing. With the walkers. That they are people, that they are sick and can be cured. It's all bullshit."
Ellie said.

"El, stop." Maggie shook her head.

"What? I'm right and you know it." Ellie faced the brunette. "That... thing out there wasn't mom. It was some monster. Did you see its eyes? Those weren't my moms. Its skin, its teeth, its hair."

"Stop calling her it."

"That's not her! That monster out there is not my mom!" Ellie felt hot tears swelling behind her eyes but she forced them away. "My "mom" tried to kill me today, okay?! She tried to eat me! She would never do that. It's not her!"

'My mom tried to eat me. That's a sentence Ellie never thought she'd say.

"El, sweetie. She was just not in the right state of mind."

"No! You're all wrong. That wasn't her. Shane is right, they aren't people anymore."

Shane's right. That's another sentence she never thought she was going to say.

"You've lost your mind if you agree with that jerk," Maggie said.

"I've lost my mind then," Ellie muttered.

She had realized that her father's beliefs were wrong. They weren't people, they were monsters. And how do you deal with monsters? You kill them.

𝐒 𝐓 𝐄 𝐋 𝐋 𝐀

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄. One of the graves was smaller than the others.

She had borrowed a gorgeous, beige blouse from Beth and even some makeup. It felt silly using such things in the apocalypse. But she felt pretty. For the first time in a long time, she actually and genuinely felt pretty. She also felt Levi's eyes burning in the back of her neck.

Hershel spoke a long speech bringing the whole group to tears. Sobs and whispers filled the air. Soon everyone emerged from the graveyard. Stella headed straight to the bathroom and quickly took off Beth's blouse. She didn't dare to keep it on, since she was scared that she might spill on it or something. But as she pulled it over her head she felt it tear and a button fell to the floor.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no!" Stella panicked. Her gaze flashed around the room trying to find the button. But it was gone. Completely gone. It must have fallen down the drain.

Stella bit her nails nervously as she walked down the stairs to tell Beth about the blouse. The blonde girl stood in the kitchen, doing the dishes and being the responsible girl she is.

"Beth," Stella whispered. "You know that blouse of yours, I'm sorry. I was taking it off when..."

Beth collapsed, bringing the dishes with her. Stella yelped and rushed to the girl. Her hand roamed her neck before finally finding her pulse. Maggie and Glenn hurried into the kitchen.

"Dad!" Maggie shouted. "Dad! Dad!?"

No response.

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐁𝐘 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐇'𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌. The Greene girl looked pale and her eyes stared blankly up at the ceiling. Maggie assumed that she was in a state of shock, causing her to collapse. She needed help. Hershel, the only man who could help her, had gone into town after finding an old friend- the liquor. Rick and Glenn had followed him, in hopes of bringing him back.

Ellie Greene sat on the bed by her sister's legs, gently adding a cold towel to her forehead.

"Hey," A familiar voice said, knocking on the door frame. Stella tore her gaze from the Greene girl to Levi, who stood leaning against the wooden door.

"Hi," Stella replied with a smile.

"How's she doing?"

"Hard to tell," Ellie said. "She's been through a lot today. She's in a state of shock."

"How are you doing?" Levi asked as he laid his gaze upon Ellie.

The Greene girl's head lowered slightly as she mumbled a short "fine" in response.

"And you?" Levi met Stella's eyes.

The girl shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know. I don't..."
In the corner of her eye, she saw Ellie sneaking out of the room silently leaving the two teens alone.

"It's just so unfair. This world. I mean she was a child. Her life had only just begun. She doesn't deserve this. No one does."

"She was just a child," Levi repeated.

"This world it's so cruel." Stella shook her head as she spoke.

"It's so unfair. Astrid doesn't... Sophia!" Levi corrected himself. Stella met Levi's eyes and her brows grew closer as she asked.

"Astrid?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from." Levi tried to laugh it off.

"Levi, who's Astrid?"

"It's nothing." He said as he stood up and walked out of the room.

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑. She was still pondering the name Levi had mentioned earlier. Astrid.

Her father had still not returned yet. But to her own surprise, Stella wasn't worried. Her father had left so many times that he proved that he could take care of himself. Every time he left he came back.

Stella took a seat next to Ellie and Carl. With every breath she took through her nose, she felt a delicate smell of food.

"Wow, it smells amazing." Stella smiled.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Patricia returned her smile.

"Hi," Stella whispered to her brother. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." He muttered.

"I know you're not. Come here." She embraced the boy, placing a kiss on his head.

"They should have been back by now," Andrea said entering the kitchen.

"Yeah, they just got holed up somewhere," Shane said. "We'll head out first thing in the morning.

Stella began scooping up food onto her plate. It felt weird eating a real dinner around a real table with real food and people. It almost reminded her of the night in the CDC, except for the heavy sadness and grief in the air.

"Carl, I want you to keep your head up, okay?" Shane said. "Your old man, he's the toughest son of a..."

"No cussing in the house." Patricia stopped him.

"Sorry." Shane smiled lightly.

"Lori, dinner!" Carol said.

"She's not in there," Maggie said.

Stella tore her gaze from the food on her plate to the Greene woman on the other side of the table. Confused as to why her mother wasn't there or here. Where else would she be?

"Where is she?" She asked.

Everyone stopped chewing instantly. The room fell silent as they all stared at each other in confusion.

"Carl and Stella, when's the last time you saw your mom?" Shane asked.

"This afternoon," Carl replied.

"She was worried about Rick," Andrea began. "Asked me to look in on Carl."

Stella's heart stopped for a second and she swallowed hard. Her father going out there was one thing but her mother? She barely knew how to defend herself against a bee.

"She went after them?" Levi asked with a worried tone.

"She didn't say that."

Stella stood from her seat and quickly placed the napkin on the table before hurrying out of the room.

"Mom?" She repeated as she searched every room. She looked outside. As far as the farm grounds stretched. Everyone else joined her. It was pitch black outside. As she searched the house for the third time she bumped into Levi.

"Have you found her?"

Levi shook his head.

"Oh, God." Stella's eyes misted over.

Levi wrapped his arms around her. Stella's breathing steadied as she felt his heartbeat.

Suddenly, bright lights shone through the window. The two teens quickly walked outside, watching as the turquoise car parked and Shane and Lori stepped out. Lori held a napkin, spotted with red blood, to her forehead.

"Oh, my god. Mom!" Stella ran over the gravel path. "What were you thinking? What happened?"

"I was in an accident, I'm fine," Lori explained.

"She was attacked," Shane added.

"Atack- what?!" Stella drew a sharp breath.

"I'm fine, I really am," Lori assured her daughter. "Where's Rick?"

Stella stared into her mother's eyes, unsure what to say. Lori looked around at every set of eyes. "They're not back?" Her gaze landed on Shane. "Where are they?"

"Look, I had to get you back here." The Walsh man said.

"You asshole!" Lori rushed over to Shane shoving him back. Her eyes were two angry black dots. "He's my husband!"

"Lori, I will go after him!" Shane tried to calm her down. "Now, first things first, I gotta look after you. I gotta make sure the baby's all right."

Stella's eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open, staring at her mother in complete shock.
"Baby? What bab... are you having a baby?!"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Carl appeared into sight.

Stella was happy for her mother, really. But after what had happened that day, she couldn't help but hate the thought of bringing a child into this cruel world. After seeing what happened to Sophia, she feared that Carl or the baby might come to the same tragic fate. She wanted to believe that she could protect them, but she wasn't strong. Not like Levi. But she swore to herself that she would do whatever she could to keep them safe.

And all of the risks that came with the birth. She couldn't lose her mother. Thank God for Hershel but at the end of the day, he was just a veterinarian, not a real doctor. Childbirth is scary enough in the real world but in the apocalypse....

"Here you go, Mom," Stella said handing a towel for her mother to clean herself up.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

Carl sat next to his mother on the couch in the living room as Dale and Andrea sat in two chairs by the window.

"Hey," their mother began. "I am so sorry that I left without telling you two."

"It's okay, I wasn't scared," Carl said. "When's dad getting back?"

"Let's hope soon."

"Does Dad know?" Stella asked as she joined Carl and Lori on the couch.

Her mother nodded. "We were just trying to find the right time to tell you." She looked at her children.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Carl spoke.

"Well," Lori shifted her position to face Carl and Stella. "We won't know that until it's born."

"Will I be able to feel it?" Carl asked, gently placing his hand her Lori's stomach.

"Not for a while." She explained.

"You must have a lot of questions, huh?" Their mother said before turning to Andrea and Dale. "We never had the talk."

"You did with me. Unfortunately." Stella muttered as memories came flooding back from the awkward conversation when her parents sat her down at the dinner table. Stella quickly shook her head and shivered to get the memory out of her head.

Carl stared at Stella in confusion.

"Hey, Hey! Don't look at me, I ain't ever experiencing that again. That's your parent's job, buddy."

"If the baby's a girl, can we name her Sophia?" Carl asked, almost bringing Stella in tears.

"Hey, Dude," Shane said appearing in the doorway. "I'm sorry, both of you, I'm sorry. I thought you knew."

"Big brother Carl," the young Grimes boy grinned, flicking his hat as he leaned back. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"On a scale of one to ten, I'd say about 2000 in coolness," Stella said as a smile inhabited her face.

"Wow, that's like, super mega cool," Carl exclaimed.

"Yeah! Okay, big brother Carl, let's get you to bed." Stella smiled.

A few minutes later, Stella sat by Carl's sleeping bag, tucking him in.

"You don't have to be worried about Mom, you know," Carl spoke.

Stella met her brother's gaze and frowned. "What?"

"You're worried. I can see that."

"I'm not.. I'm not worried." Stella lied.

"I know that you are. You always do that thing with your hair when you're scared or worried."

Stella stared at the piece of hair that she was nervously fidgeting with, before she quickly let go of it letting it fall back in its place with the rest of her blonde hair.

"I'm older now, I'm going to be a big brother soon. I can see stuff like that. I'm not stupid like you guys think." Carl muttered.

"No one thinks you're stupid." Stella tricked her brothers hair.

"I can see that you're worried. I can see that something is bugging Levi and that there's something weird going on between mom and Shane."

"Wow, okay stop it now, smarty pants." Stella giggled as she sipped his sleeping bag closed. "That's enough crazy talk for today."

"You don't have to be worried about mom. She will be fine. Hershel is a doctor and Maggie and Ellie and the others know a lot about doctor stuff as well."

Stella smiled, looking at her younger brother. His hair was longer now and his sleeping bag was almost to small. His eyes were older, his mouth too.

"When did you start growing up?" Stell kissed him on his forehead.

"When did you start talking like mom?" Carl laughed.

"Wow, look at you with some sassy attitude!" Stella laughed. "Sleep well, sassy boy."

"Good night, Stella."

_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____
𝟐𝟖𝟗𝟖 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
𝟑.𝟐𝟑 𝐏𝐌
𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____

𝐀/𝐍

haven't proofread this but anywaysss
Kinda hate some of these parts bc they're kinda cringe 🫡

Ive added like 4 ocs but they won't be added until like next season and season 5
I don't want to many ocs but there won't be to many at the same time 😏

anyways love you all sm for 1k followers and almost 5k reads ilysm

vote or I'll eat your toes😍