𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 || 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘊𝘏𝘖𝘐𝘊𝘌
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[ ɪꜰ ɪ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏꜱᴇ ʏᴏᴜ
ɪ'ᴅ ꜱᴜʀᴇʟʏ ʟᴏꜱᴇ ᴍʏꜱᴇʟꜰ
ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴅᴇᴀʀ
ɪ'ᴠᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ ʙʏ ᴍʏꜱᴇʟꜰ ]

IT WAS A few hours later that Roland stopped in front of a house and glanced around. Making sure they were in the clear before he walked up the pathway and the steps onto the front porch. Opening the door a crack before looking back at Emily as he tapped the door with his knife. Both standing still as they waited for any sound that could alert them of a walker being present in the house.

When nothing came, he opened the door and motioned for the girl to go in. After she did, Roland stepped in and shut the door behind him with a click. The cloud of his breath hovering in the air as he turned back around to see Emily slowly stepped further into the house. Couches and the T.V. were to the left of them with a dining room table to their right. A wall blocking the view of the kitchen, but stairs straight ahead of the front door. With a wall on the right and left side of the stairs, a hallway was between the kitchen and stairs that led to God knows where.

"Fancy home, huh?" Emily breathed as she rubbed her hands together. Wincing quietly as the pain in her arm was still very much there, but thankfully not as bad as it was before when Roland found her. He had stopped them an hour back and patched it up the best he could for the time being. Telling her that he would try and do better when they found a place to rest.

Roland hummed as he walked past the girl with his knife in hand and made a beeline to the kitchen. Cautiously walking over with his knife raised and prepared to kill whatever tried to get the jump on him. Upon walking into the kitchen, his guard lowered at the sight. It was a woman and a child, both suffered bullets to the head. Blood splashed across the counter with a tiny note in the woman's hand.

Crouching down, Roland carefully took the note and unfolded it. Specks of dried blood on the paper with black handwriting across it. 'I'm sorry, Jeremy. Please forgive me for what I had to do. We both were both bit when we were hunting. I should've never taken Joseph with me. I couldn't take seeing him turn so I ended it for him. Supplies are in the garage. I'm sorry. Love Bella'.

"Jesus," Roland muttered to himself as he placed the paper back down in the woman's lap before standing up. Hearing the quiet gasp from behind him and looking to see Emily staring at the scene sadly. "What happened?" She asked as Roland sighed. "Both got bit. She killed her son than herself." He explained briefly before he walked away and in search of the garage.

Emily found herself looking around in the kitchen for any supplies that could favour them. She'd been going off of the occasional can of vegetables that she could find. It wasn't doing her any good by how weak she felt almost all the time, but it was still enough to get her by and kept her moving. She couldn't get caught. SHe couldn't go back to that place after the things they did and would do to her.

Upon opening the fridge, she cringed at the smell and shut the fridge. "That's fucking gross." She grimaced before moving to the cabinets and trying to find any resource. Soon finding a can of corn and seeing as that was enough for her before leaving the kitchen. Glancing down the hall in confusion as to where Roland went off to.

"Roland?" She called out before the sound of rustling could be heard down the hall. "In the garage." He replied and she sighed in relief and walked in the direction of where she heard his voice. Entering the garage, she saw three sleeping bags around a little campfire that had burned out a while before they were here. In the corner was Roland searching through a pack and pulling out cans and a water bottle.

They both hadn't uttered a word to one another this entire time they had been moving. It was coming close to nighttime and they weren't exactly keen on talking instead of surviving. Roland didn't care about what this girl had to say or wanted to say, but he was going to at least give her a boost before he left. It'd be the right thing for him to do since he didn't plan on trying to make friends with Emily.

Standing up, Roland moved to the left side of the room where some of the wood was placed before grabbing some and tossing it on the floor. "Get the fire goin'." He ordered before pulling out his knife and walking to the glass window above the counter full of tools. Hitting it and spider webbing the entire window and hitting out the corner of it.

Emily had flinched at the sound and glared at him as she stopped for a brief moment of stacking the wood. "What the hell are you doing?" Roland huffed in annoyance, sheathing his knife as he turned to the girl. "Making sure we don't suffocate. Unless you want to; then fine by me." He muttered and Emily's mouth formed an 'O' in realization, giving a tiny embarrassing nod.

When the fire was started, Emily sat down and released a wince of pain. Roland glanced over from the window, seeing the girl hold her forearm where she had cut it open on some glass. He watched her shrug her jacket off, clenching her jaw in pain before she was only in her heavy metal t-shirt. The bandage around her arm having a pink tint showing in the fabric.

With a sigh, Roland walked over to his bag and began fumbling through it. Emily looked up at him and felt her eyebrows knit together. "What are you doing?" She asked softly and Roland didn't answer as he brought out a black bag and moved around the small fire. Crouching down beside the girl and opening the bag and grabbing a tiny bottle of alcohol with a needle and thread.

"Remove the bandage." He told her, his tone just enough to tell Emily she had no room to protest against him. So, carefully and slowly, she removed the bandage and revealed the cut. Trickles of blood sliding down her pale skin as Roland inspected the wound. Seeing that the glass had cut pretty deep, but didn't look like it nicked anything important.

Tying the thread around the look in the needle, Roland didn't see the fearful look on the girl's face. "Are you going to sew that up?" She asked shakily and Roland glanced up at her. "It won't hurt." He told her, but the lack of care didn't convince her a single bit. "When people say that, it means it's going to hurt." She fired back and the man sighed as he finished tying the thread and gently grabbed her arm.

"How old are you?" He asked as the girl looked up at him with a raised brow. "I'm 14- Ow, fuck!" She exclaimed as the needled pierced her skin. "Stay still," Roland muttered as he focused on patching the wound up. "You could've given me a warning or something." She snapped and Roland felt a tiny quirk in the corner of his mouth form in a half-hearted smile. "You would've told me no." He replied.

"That's not-!" Her protest was cut off by the needle piercing her skin once again. Emily released a groan of pain as she threw her head back. "Talk about something to get your mind off the pain," Roland suggested and Emily rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Kinda hard to do that when a needle is going through my skin, ass-" Once again, her sentence was cut off by the needle going through her skin. "Talk about something else," Roland repeated with slight amusement in his tone.

Doing as she was told, Emily brought her nails to her teeth and began chewing. "Where'd you learn to do this?" She asked and Roland stopped for a second, figuring out a way to answer before continuing. "Learned on the road." He answered simply as Emily nodded, grunting at the pain in his arm.

"How do you think everything started?" She asked and Roland snickered. "What do you think?" He asked and Emily shrugged. "I don't know. I guess maybe the government spread it to everyone across the world." Her guess made Roland laugh as he shook his head and looked up at her. "You believe that?" Roland questioned as the girl frowned at his response. "Okay, let's hear your theory."

Roland pushed the needle through the girl's skin and let his free hand run down his face. Scratching at his stubble as he glanced up at the girl and seeing one of her brows raised in expectancy. With a sigh, Roland let his hand fall onto his knee against the ground. "We're all infected." He confessed as the girl frowned. "I had visited the CDC and ran into a doctor who explained everything. He told me that every person is infected and when we die, we turn."

The confession silenced Emily completely as she looked away to soak up the information given to her. She didn't know it, but she was the first person Roland had told about the infection. No one from his group had known, only him and his dad. They believed that telling them would only get them to lose hope of finding and fighting for a better life than this. And Roland knew that somewhere, maybe not here, but somewhere there was still a place that they could call home and be used to build the once-forgotten life that they all knew.

Without sharing another word, Roland finished sewing up her cut before biting the thread and tying it up. Once done with that, he grabbed her hand and grabbed the tiny bottle of alcohol in his other. "You ready?" He asked as the girl looked at him. Nodding as she said, "Yeah." Quickly, Roland poured some of the liquid onto the wound and allowed the girl to squeeze his hand. "Fuck." She grunted as Roland pursed his lips and let go of her hand and wrapped a new set of bandages around the wound.

Soon after patching up her wound, the pair were sat on either side of the fire. Both enjoying the food that they were eating and the water Roland had scrounged up. But the entire time, Roland had questions in his head about this girl and how she even ended up falling onto his lap and becoming his responsibility. The one that stood out the most was wondering who was chasing her and why they were. And if he did ask, he hoped she would at least tell him after everything he's done for her up to this point.

And as if Roland's thoughts escaped him, he said, "Why the hell were those men chasin' ya?" He questioned as he looked up at Emily who glanced up at him. Shrugging as she used her thumb to stab at the corn. "Why would I tell you?" Her bitter tone made Roland chuckle with a shake of his head. The type of respect he gets in return after saving her ass and telling her the most secretive information held from the rest of the world.

"You wanna know the best thing about this whole thing?" He asked as she looked back up at him "I ain't gotta know. It won't matter since, after tonight, we're splitting off." He smiled fakely before taking a spoonful of his beans. Emily rolled her eyes with a scoff as she grabbed a spoonful of corn. "Fine by me. Quicker I'm away from your old ass is better for me." She fired back before taking a bite of her food.

Roland nearly choked on his beans after she called him old. He was nineteen and she thought he was old? If he was being honest, it definitely made him take a mental note to shave off the stubble growing and continuing to grow. He didn't even look old, but he sure felt like it with the constant travelling he was forced to endure.

On the other side of the flame, Emily was feeling horrible about going back out there alone. She hated the idea of having to continue to run without someone to have her back. She may be fourteen and able to handle herself (in her eyes), but she preferred having someone there to keep her company. For days, she had to talk to herself to try and give her some form of entertainment as she travelled. And with Roland saving her after nearly being caught, she didn't mind his cold and direct response or appearance. She felt comforted by the idea of someone being there to help her, even if it was an asshole like Roland.

Glancing up at the man, Emily pursed her lips. "Have you been alone this entire time?" Roland looked up at her through his hooded eyelashes. Seeing the genuine curiosity in her eyes. He admitted with a shake of his head and sigh. "No. Had a group a couple..." His voice trailed off as he tried picking his brain at how long he'd been alone for.

It felt like forever since he actually thought about the inferno that was the farm. How he woke up in the middle of the forest and saw the destruction of the place he thought to be the haven. Remembering how there was no one there looking for him or anybody left on that farm. He was alone, and it may be better that way judging by how destroyed of a man he was after Shane betrayed him. They may have been on bad terms the last few days, but Roland still trusted him.

"...I don't know how long." He finished quietly as he stared at the flame. Not wanting to explain anymore to her since it didn't involve her. The least he could before he left was at least talk to her a tiny bit. Emily nodded in understanding as she placed her food in front of her. About to speak, but hesitating and Roland caught it. He could tell she was apprehensive about opening up to someone like him.

Someone who was a stranger and probably would forget her the next day when he left. He understood that and could recognize what kind of man he may look like now. He wasn't the same since the farm and it made him wonder what everyone would react like if they saw him again. And that is a big 'if' since he didn't know if he would ever find them again. But it was the tiny bit of hope in his heart that he was holding onto that mattered.

"My mom and dad left me behind in a storage closet in a store." She began as Roland watched her. Taking in every little twitch or expression she made that could give him any sense of what she was feeling. "When I did get out, I found out they were dead. Got picked up by a group that took me in. And now I'm here." She explained with a shrug as if it was nothing, but Roland could see the pain in her eyes. He knew that type of look and it was close to something that Carl had worn when he was recovering from the pain of Sophia's death.

There was a moment of silence between them. Both digesting the information that Emily had told, but Roland soon spoke up and said, "How'd they die?" He questioned and the girl felt her arms tense up at the thought. "Um, they died from bites. Someone didn't give them the decency of stabbing or shooting them in the head." She explained with pursed lips and Roland nodded. "I know how you feel." He muttered before he stopped talking and continued eating.

That was the end of the conversation and it was probably better that way. There was no point in bringing up old memories when what mattered was dealing with what was happening at the moment. How they both would be splitting off early in the morning and going their separate ways to find what they need to find.

After he finished eating, Roland sighed as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Get some sleep when you're done. Your gonna need it." He told the girl before standing to his feet and moving to the door. "Where are you going?" She questioned, causing Roland to falter in his step as he stopped at the doorway. Looking at the girl as he said, "I'm keepin' watch. Just worry about sleepin', alright?" He assured her off as he exited the garage and closed the door behind him. Emily sighed lightly as she looked back down at her corn and took one more bite.

Grabbing her can and placing it over by Roland's as she shuffled into the sleeping bag. Her eyes were glued to the flame before they got heavy and she let them shut. Welcoming her into a deep slumber of content knowing that Roland would at least stay and watch until he left.

A groan passed Roland's lips as he sat down. Shuffling slightly into the cushioning of the couch to get comfortable before letting out a sigh. Placing his pistol on his lap as his eyes stayed glued to the window. Taking in the darkness on the other side of it and how beautiful the star-painted sky looked.

This welcoming silence wasn't going to be forgotten for Roland. He could now just sit here and think about what he was going to do next. And if he was being honest, he didn't know what he was going to do. He was completely lost with nothing to guide him where to go. Maybe that was a good thing because maybe he was just chasing a group that was dead or chasing a group that could be halfway across the country.

Whatever he was going to do next would need to be something that could help. Find a map or something to help him through this cluster fuck of a situation he was stuck in. Emily was just conveniently in the right place at the right time for him to save her. But now they had to part ways because taking care of a kid like her would be more hassle than help. That was his opinion at least.

When the exhaustion caught up to him, he didn't fight back and let himself sleep. It felt like he hadn't slept in weeks judging by how much he'd been moving. But when he woke up, the dawn of the sun shined through the window. Hitting his eyelids and making him grunt in annoyance as he lifted his hand to shield them.

Everything was silent and Roland glanced around to see if there was anything that popped out of the ordinary. When he saw nothing, he stood up with a groan and rubbed his eyes. Attempting to rub the sleepiness away as he walked down out of the living room and down the hallway. Sniffling lightly as he arrived at the garage door and carefully opened it. Sighing at the sight of Emily still curled up in the sleeping bag and asleep.

He quietly walked around her, trying to let her rest up as long as she wanted to as he grabbed his bag. Rolling up one of the sleeping bags and strapping it to his backpack before sliding his gun into the back of his pants. Glancing around to see if there was anything else he could take that would help him on his journey.

And when he found nothing, he walked to the garage door. But stopped and turned back to Emily. Seeing her face crinkle up with a sniffle before it relaxed. Something was stabbing into his heart at this moment and he didn't know what it was. He couldn't understand why he was feeling this way now of all times when he needed the daylight to keep moving.

But staring at this girl right in front of him, he felt this need to keep her around. After she had told him her story, he connected with her quite a bit. He didn't know how it felt to lose parents, but he had lost quite a few people in his time to know it was almost the same thing. So, there was the reliability tied in there, but something else was digging inside him.

For whatever reason, he couldn't walk away. He couldn't just leave this girl to fend for herself in a world like this. If he was in her shoes, he would want someone to be with him, but he wasn't her. He was Roland Grimes who couldn't even remember how long he'd been on his own. His people hadn't gone looking for him or just couldn't find him so he welcomed this new term of life. Being the lone wolf he'd grown up to be. But she seemed to be the exact opposite of that from the time Roland had spent with her.

So, with a sigh of annoyance towards himself, he walked towards the girl. Nudging her foot a few times until she groaned. "Yeah, your leaving. I get it." She grumbled and Roland almost smiled. Almost. "Get up. We gotta get movin'." He told her as she rolled onto her back and looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" Emily questioned with a frown and Roland sighed. "What I mean is to get up and get ready. We're movin' out." He reiterated as the girl stared at him in shock. "I'll wait in the living room." With those being his final words for the discussion, he turned and walked out of the garage. Leaving a slightly confused and relieved Emily who tiredly got out of her sleeping bag and began getting ready.

When she finished, she walked into the living room to find Roland leaning against the wall in the corner looking out the window. Her footsteps alerted him of her presence as he pushed off the wall. "You ready?" He questioned and the girl nodded, a tiny smile appearing. "Yeah, let's go." Roland nodded before adjusting the strap on his pack and moving to the front door and opening it.

The warm yet cold weather welcomed them as they stepped out of the house and walked down the steps. Snow crunching under their feet as they turned onto the road and began their journey to nowhere specific. Emily walked beside the man, glancing up at him to see his eyes glued to the snow-covered road ahead of them.

Roland knew that this decision would either be the right one and could be something he didn't regret. Or it could be the decision that causes so much pain for both of them. And he would only know by time and he was willing to wait to find out.