The Aftermath

S2E1: New Faces

Silence lingers in the quiet, worn down bunker as the group   speechless to see Tamara alive and well. Chris and Jess are in disbelief at the sudden realization that their friend survived these harsh conditions. How long has she been living down here? Does she know about the crawlers? Did she know about the Admiral's corruption? Chris thinks to himself.
       Chris gets out of his thoughts when he realizes that Tamara is sobbing on her knees. Chris watches as tears trickle from her face while she's smiling. "Chris! Jess! I thought I'd never see you again," Tamara says while wiping away her tears.
       Tamara rises from the floor and looks over at the two people standing next to the old rusty bunks. Chris notices that both of the teenagers seem close. The male is very tall and has a slim figure while the female seems strong and confident.
       "Who are they?" Jeannie asks Tamara. Tamara zones out a little before answering. "Oh! This is Skyy and this is her boyfriend Matthew," Tamara says in an uplifting tone. "Hi nice to meet you all! Please make yourselves comfortable," Skyy says. "Alright enough chit chat! We have a shelter to be rebuilding so you can either help us or leave," Matthew says in a more serious tone while avoiding eye contact with the group.
       The group remains quiet as Matthew exits the bunker while Skyy follows him from behind. The group exchange looks at each other over Matthew's attitude. How long has Tamara been with these two? Can they be trusted? Jess thinks to herself. "Ok guys let's go patrol the perimeter and gather supplies. Might as well call this a temporary home," Jeannie says.
       The group makes their way up to the open air as they begin to get to work. That fresh air coming out of the bunker feels familiar for all of them as they take in the sights around them. They separate as they start collecting resources for defense.
       "Ok, who died and made that buzzkill in charge?" Paige asks. "I don't see why he's acting so high and mighty." Paige continues to chop logs angrily while wiping the sweat away from his forehead. "I agree with you. He's acting like he's the leader. I feel bad for Skyy having to put up with that," Ricky says. "Maybe there's a reason that he's acting this way. We shouldn't be so quick to judge people," Jill says.
       "Alright whatever you say pansy," Paige says while swinging the axe down and striking the log once again. "Here take this, I'm going to do something else," Paige says while handing the axe to Ricky. "Wait! You only cut three logs!" Ricky yells. "Not my problem!" Paige yells while chuckling. "Whatever", Ricky groans. "Let's just get to work. It'll be over soon," Jill says reassuringly.
       The sun begins to fade behind the remnant of the trees as the group begins to lose sunlight. "Alright let's all get inside to ration out the supplies for dinner tonight. Matthew, Skyy and Hayden can take the first watch", Jeannie says while heading in the bunker.
       Meanwhile, in the infirmary tent, Tamara, Sarah, and Jess are taking inventory of all the medical equipment. The night slowly lingers by as millions of questions formulate in Jess's head. How did Tamara survive outside without a gun? Was she actually going to commit suicide? What changed her mind? Jess ponders for a moment until she realizes that Tamara is speaking to her.
"I'm sorry what'd you say?" Jess asks.
       The thought of Tamara surviving out there in the wasteland by herself didn't seem logical to Jess. "You're wondering how I'm alive aren't you?" Tamara says as her tone completely shifts. Both Jess and Sarah remain in silence as they ponder on how to answer the question. Suddenly, Sarah decides to break the silence and asks, "didn't you try to commit suicide?"
Jess avoids eye contact. The awkwardness has a sharper pain than the feeling of a knife piercing through skin. "I did at first, but Skyy and Matthew found me. They made me feel useful again," Tamara says with a smile on her face. "What about life in the bunker? Was your life not worth living when you spent it with us?" Jess snaps as she starts to sob into Sarah's shoulder.
       Tamara stands up to take a deep breath as she walks over to Jess. She brings her in for a hug while resting her head on Jess's shoulder. "I was just naive. You guys are great people. The problem was that I was too far gone." Tamara says, gripping on even tighter to Jess's shoulder. "I almost willingly walked into a horde of crawlers before Skyy stopped me. Ever since that day, I've changed," Tamara continues.
       Jess wipes the tears away from her cheek as she recollects herself. "I'm so happy I got to see you again," Jess says while smiling. "Me too Jess," Tamara says as they comfort each other once again. For a second, Jess could feel all her worries fading away as she got lost in her sea of emotions. "I hate to break this up, but can you guys actually help," Sarah says in a slightly annoyed tone while carrying three boxes of medical supplies. "Oh s-sorry," Tamara stutters as she helps Sarah and Jess reorganize the infirmary.
Back at the perimeter, Skyy, Hayden, and Matthew are grabbing their guns for their watch. Crickets can be heard chirping in the distance as Skyy and Hayden slowly begin to drift off. The midnight breeze rushes through Skyy's hair. It's comforting. She feels relaxed for the first time in awhile.
       Suddenly, Skyy is forced out of her relaxation when she feels a hand on her shoulder. "Wake up. This is a going to be a long night so make sure you guys keep each other company. I'll be patrolling around the side opposite from you guys," Matthew says in a serious tone before walking away. There's a silence among the two as Hayden yawns and stretches out his arms.
      "I don't understand why you're still with that egotistical maniac," Hayden says while still stretching out his arms. Skyy just smiled. "Everyone says that," She says while chuckling. Hayden looks at her; his eyes filled with bewilderment. Skyy sighs and gazes off into the night sky. "It's not everyday where you see a night as beautiful as this," Skyy says.
       Hayden nods his head in agreement as he looks around to see Matthew patrolling the perimeter on the other side of the camp. This camp is built similar to Hayden's old militia campground back in the bunker. There's a wooden wall surrounding the perimeter with spikes. There are different tents. One's used for medical equipment while the other is used for food and water rations.
       There's a farm filled with crops like wheat, carrots, and potatoes. The gateway into the camp looks like rusty metal bars that could break in seconds. Will this camp be safe enough for our group? Why does this camp look like a prison? Should we truly trust these people? Hayden thinks to himself while secretly admiring the camp's atmosphere.
       Skyy breaks her attention away from the starry night to see Hayden lost in thought. "A few years ago, Matthew and I were in a bunker," Skyy says. Hayden looks at Skyy with a surprised look on his face. "Which bunker were you guys located at?" Hayden asks intriguingly. "Bunker 01," Skyy says with a hint of disappointment in her voice.
They sat there for a moment; enjoying the sight of the full moon. "Matthew and I both lost our parents on our way to the bunker. We were there for each other. We loved each other. Soon after, chaos broke out in our bunker, and our own people decided to send us out into the unknown. They wanted to save their food supplies and deemed us useless. Ever since that day, Matthew has been really protective over me, and than we built this place over time," Skyy says.
"I'm sorry about that. I know how you feel, but you proved your unit wrong. You proved yourself to be useful. Both you and Matthew should feel proud of what you accomplished here," Hayden says reassuringly. Skyy smiles as her eyes reflect the beauty of the full moon off in the distance. "Thanks Hayden. I really needed to hear that," Skyy says. "No problem. I'm glad I was able to help," Hayden says.
Suddenly Hayden and Skyy are interrupted when Chris walks over from the bunker. "Hey guys you're relieved from your shift. I'll be taking care of things now so you can head off to bed," Chris says. "Alright cool. See you in the morning Chris," Hayden says while walking back to his sleeping quarters.
Back in the bunker, Tamara tosses and turns in her mattress as she desperately tries to rest comfortably. She visibly looks exhausted and fidgety from a long day of working in the infirmary. "My feet hurt," Tamara complains to herself as she walks to get a drink of water. She's groggy as she walks to the rationing tent half asleep.
Suddenly, she feels a hand on her shoulder as they aggressively push her against the wall. Tamara desperately tries to break out of the person's grasp, but a hand clamps onto her mouth and pushes back even harder. "Be quiet," a familiar voice whispers in her ear. The force pulls her around, and Tamara sees Paige in front of her, and Ryan in the background.
A feeling of confusion rushes over Tamara as questions formulate in her head. Why'd they kidnap me? Are they going to kill me? Is there a way I could avoid their grasps? Tamara thinks to herself. Tamara is forced out of her thoughts when Paige slaps her while gritting his teeth. "Your story doesn't check out. There's no way you could've survived out there alone without a weapon and somehow make it all the way here without reaching a single crawler," Ryan says.
Tamara says nothing and avoids eye contact in fear of what they might do to her. "You better not do anything to harm our group," Paige says angrily. "Kind've hypocritical coming from the one who both kidnapped and slapped me," Tamara says with a menacing smirk. This sudden wave of confidence seems unnatural to Ryan. A few seconds ago, Tamara was a nervous wreck, but now, she stood up to Paige.
"I'm gonna make you wish you were never born," Paige says angrily. "Hold it Paige. I only want answers that are legitimate. So tell me the true story," Ryan says. "I'm telling you that I'm not making this up. A few hours away from the bunker, I saw Matthew before I was about to walk into the crawlers. He saved me and walked me back to camp. That is all," Tamara says in a sincere tone.
       There's a long silence as the tension only builds between these three survivors. "Alright. I'll confirm it with Matthew tomorrow to see his side of the story. Sorry for the trouble that Paige caused you. I wasn't in on the kidnapping you part. It did seem unnatural though," Ryan says.
       Both Ryan and Paige leave Tamara against the wall as they walk back to their sleeping quarters. They admire the stars and breathe in the fresh air of the night. "We have to tell the others. Somethings fishy about Tamara and Matthew's relationship," Ryan says while opening the door to the bunker. "Agreed," Paige says as they finally walk into their temporary home full of lies and tension.
       As Tamara walks back to the bunker, she thinks about the previous confrontation. Should I tell Matthew and Skyy about this incident? Can I trust them? Tamara thinks to herself while holding the side of her face that Paige aggressively slapped.
       Suddenly, Tamara bursts out into a fit of laughter while crying at the same time. She walks to her bed and places a knife under her pillowcase. "He'll get what's coming to him," Tamara says ominously before going to bed.