(Unedited) Stage One: Hope in Darkness

Catching Up (A&L)

~~~~~Lara

I saw her question and figured now was the best time as ever to tell her my adventure to find her. I started with telling her about my friends starting with Rose and how she was learning to be a doctor, then Sam and his high skills of tracking and a very big part to how I found her, and finally Ryan. The man-whore of the whole camp and found myself going into fine detail about how he looked.

Even told her about how he had been the one who saved me from a walker when I left the house. Then I went all the way back to when we got split up. When I got ripped out of the car by a ripper I fell to the ground fighting it as it snapped its jaws at me. The other people running for they're lives hadn't realized I was being attacked by a zombie and when they kicked it it fell off me

It gave me enough time to get to my feet and run with the crowd. The crowd ran and pushed as we got to the checkpoint that was filled with the military. Before I could realize what was happening the walkers had gotten to the front and were attacking them. The people screamed and ran back away from the gate as gunfire rang out all around me. The people thinned out as everyone was running in all directions to get away from the chaos. I couldn't run in any direction. I just found myself being hit and shoved around until I was finally able to see some homes.

I didn't think twice and moved and pushed past anyone in my way. This street of homes was flooded with walkers attacking and people screaming in fear and pain. I just went to the first house I could and found the basement and locked myself in and barricaded the door. When inlet the walkers had spread out and I managed to sneak past but in the overwhelming fear I almost died when Ryan had found me and saved me. I smiled at the memory but quickly moved on to when I saw her photo on the Ripper.

I told her about the attack on our camp and how I was pulled from the rubble

"There was a sniper on this cliff I had a strong feeling it was you...you have a well trained eye" I laughed lightly

~~~~Annabelle

She had been at the camp. The one on the other side of the city. Lara had been so close to me all this time and I had never even known. She had come for me, given up the safety of the camp just to find me. Her friends had been taken because they had been looking for me. I could see from the look in her eyes that she was going to go after them. Lara never was the type to leave a friend in trouble. It was one of the reasons I loved her.

I had been running all this time, living in fear that He would find me. So much so that I had never wanted to be around people. He was the reason I had stayed away from the camp, the reason I had lived in isolation all this time. I had to tell her. Had to explain to her what he was like. What he would do to her friends. I sighed. This would take a while. I started writing, it was like I was making a journal entry.

Lara, when we got separated I found a group. They were nice, kept me safe. They were going to a place they had heard was safe. A place where they could find hope, a cure for the infection. There were doctors there, and military.

At the time it had seemed like the best option. The world was in chaos. All we wanted was to feel safe again. We had been such fools. When we got there we were attacked, caged like animals. The others, I have no idea what became of them.

There was a man there. He liked to call himself a doctor, we called him something very different. A devil, a monster. He experimented on us, tortured us. He injected us with all kinds of concoctions. He said he was doing what was necessary, what was right. He wanted to cure the infection, this was the only way.

The things he gave us were painful. Every injection felt like fire burning through my veins. One of the days I had managed to get a screw loose on my cot. I used it to unlock my cell. I didn't get far before he caught me. He carved this symbol into my neck as punishment.

He had tied me to the table in his 'lab' that's what he called it at least. He had been about to inject me with the virus. The infection. I managed to get my hand free and stop him. Honestly the rest is a blur, I had lost quite a lot of blood and had who knows what kinds of chemicals running through me.

I ran away from that place and haven't stopped running since. Your friends will be taken to his lab. The doctor who tortured me is the Master. He will do the same to them.

By the end my hands were shaking, the writing had gotten more wobbly the more I had written. The more my words had become less legible. Lara would be able to read it, she always could read my bad handwriting. I handed her my paper.

~~~~~Lara

I saw her hands shaking as she got to the end of her long time of writing. It scared me of what I was about to read. And when I did read it was so much worse than I thought it would be. She told me that they would go through what she did.

They would be hurt and it was all because I didn't ditch them like I had for a moment while walking. With them.

"Annabelle" I started using her full name so she knew I was serious "you have to tell me ... where he is." I spoke as calmly as I could but she knew I could have a temper and when I looked into her eyes she saw what I was thinking. She knew I was seeing red. Even if he never touched them I still wanted him dead for even thinking about it "I'm not asking you to come with me and I would understand if you're too scared to help me. But I can't leave them there" I told her

"Help me. Please"

~~~~Annabelle

She was begging me. Pleading with me to tell her where he was. Lara was going to go to the one place that frightened me more than any other. My stomach was in knots. The very thought of going back to that place made me want to curl up in a ball and die. But if Lara was going than there was no other choice in my mind but to go with her. She was my best friend. I would follow her through the gates of hell, well that was going to happen sooner rather than later.

'I'm coming with you' I wrote.

~~~~~Lara

I saw her words and felt a little peace.

"Thank you. Realistically I can't do it without you." I told her "I just didn't want to push you" I said and held my head in my hands. It felt like whatever God was up there was playing with me.

They take away my best friend then when I get her back they take away a guy I really like. I hadn't told her that part but from how I talked about him I'm sure she figured it out. I was basically an open book to her even if I wasn't really meaning to be. What were friends for?

~~~~Annabelle

I watched Lara. She still looked exhausted, a lot had happened today. She had lost some friends and found one. Been attacked by rippers and ran through the woods. I signaled to Hannibal, move over. He slid to one side of the bed, making just enough room for someone to lay down. I pushed on Lara's shoulder, forcing her to lay back. There would be time in the morning to talk again. I'm not going anywhere. It was a testament to how tired Lara was that she let me push her down. She even let me tuck her under the blanket.

She needed sleep, I would keep watch tonight. Nothing was going to hurt us. I would keep her and Hannibal safe. We had just found eachother again and nothing was going to separate us again.

~~~~~Lara

I laid back and I could already feel sleep pulling me in but even with that I felt compelled to thank her again and again until I fell asleep.