XV. you went quiet and I got mean
two years before.
The months dragged on and soon turned into years. It was always hot. Scorching. Hardly ever a breeze. Mia was covered in sweat and dirt. Her tinted skin got darker from the sun. Her cheeks were sunburn red. Her brown curls fell in knots around her head, strands sticking to her face and neck. Her feet dragged along the dead leaves and dirt, exhaustion and dehydration battling one another.
Lucas was ahead of her. His dark eyes looked around them, silently looking for someone to go. It was too quiet. Not a sound of wind blowing through the trees. It was just still. It was unbelievable. Mia cleared her throat and winced at the raw feeling. She hadn't had a drop of water in days. Lucas's keen ears heard. "We need to find water."
"Really now?" She didn't mean to sound mean. She was just tired.
He rolled his eyes. "There has to be a water source around here somewhere." He continued while looking around the forest.
Mia shook her head. "We've been walking for miles, Luke. There's nothing." She heaved. Her chest felt tight every time she breathed.
Lucas went quiet again and looked around the area. He pointed to the left. "Let's go that way."
Mia obliged and followed her twin down the pathway. Lucas was always the best at tracking so she just stayed back and let him do his thing. He felt something hit his cheek that caused him to wipe his face. On his palm was a dead mosquito. "A mosquito?" He mumbled to himself.
When he heard a slap, he turned around to see Mia slapping her arm. "Ouch! Why's there so many bugs?"
Feeling another bug land on his arm, he slapped it away and began to think. "Bugs. Bugs are attracted to water. That's means. . ." When it clicked, Lucas's eyes went wide and he started to run.
"Luke!" Mia called his name.
Lucas heard the rustling of water and then he saw a small watering hole just past the tree. "Water!" He exclaimed, his voice echoing.
His sister's eyes widened as well. When they got to the watering hole, she fell to her knees. "Oh my gosh." She exhaled and stuck her hands in the water.
The twins splashed their faces. Lucas felt like he was in heaven. "This feels amazing."
Mia sighed at the feeling of the cold water cooling down her scorching skin. She cupped her hands and brought it to her lips. "I knew you were good for something, Luke."
Lucas gave her an offended look and shoved her by the shoulder, making her tumble to the side and laugh. "We need to collect this." He stated and took the backpack from off his shoulders. He unzipped it and started pulling out the empty water bottles.
Mia finished cleaning her dirty face. They scooped up as much water as they could. She filled up a bottle and chugged it, sighing at the cold feeling on her scratchy throat. She lathered her skin with the water till she was fully drenched. She gave Lucas the side eye and flicked the water on his face.
Lucas glared at her. "Don't start."
She only smirked and cupped the water, throwing it at him.
He sighed. "Oh, you asked for it." He leaned forward and put his arm in the water and swiped it forward so a huge splash covered her.
Mia gasped loudly. "Lucas!"
"I told you!"
She splashed him back and it went on until their clothes were both fully drenched in water. Their laughs mingled together and it was the only sound that could heard throughout the whole forest. For that one moment, they both forgot that they were fighting for survival and just acted like the kids they were. They only had each other. It reminded Mia of before the apocalypse hit and they would spend their summer days at the pool, splashing around and having fun. Those were the good days. The days before everything went to hell. Mia missed those days.
When they were done splashing each other, the twins leaned on each other and laughed. "Luke?" She said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry that I act like such a baby and that I don't do much to help. I just. . . I'm so scared. I'm so scared something bad's gonna happen. I forget that you're doing everything you can to protect me and keep us safe. I know I don't act like it but I'm so, so happy that you're here." Mia said wholeheartedly. She didn't realize that she had started to cry and thought it was just the water dripping from her face.
Lucas listened to her and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. "I'll always protect you, Mia. I'm your brother, that's what we do. I know you're scared. I am too, trust me. But trust me, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm not dad. I don't have everything figured out like him. I'm just trying to. . . I don't know. . . keep us going because I believe there's someone, or something out there for us."
It went quiet again and Mia curled further into his side. "If I didn't have you, I don't know what I would do. I would probably be dead by now." Lucas continued. His dark eyes turned sad. "Don't be so hard on yourself, okay? You're just a kid. We're not supposed to be surviving. We're supposed to be living. You do so much to help me. You help me by just being here. You keep me from losing my mind. We're going to be okay. I promise."
Mia closed her eyes and drank in his words. If Lucas believed, so would she.
present.
It was times like this that Mia longed for one of those long and meaning conversations with her brother. Lucas always gave the best advice and always knew what to say. He always knew how to make her feel better. Her heart ached to be by his side just one more time.
Her shoulders slumped as she walked down the broken gravel road. Her feet dragged from how tired her legs were. Her arms swung lazily by her sides. Rick limped next to her. Their clothes were torn and covered in blood, sweat, and grime. Faint wheezing noises left his mouth at every step he took and he had a heavy limp. Mia stayed close to him just in case something happened. Her bones ached from all the running and walking but she didn't dare complain. It wasn't the time to.
Carl walked way ahead of them. He hadn't said a word since they left the prison. That was hours ago. He hadn't spared either of them a glance. He kept his back toward them. Mia stared at the back of his head and hoped he would utter a word but he said nothing. She was too afraid to say anything to him in fear of making him mad.
The three walked down a graveled path through the woods. The familiar sight of the evergreens brought back terrible memories. Tears filled her eyes but she refused to cry. This wasn't a time for crying. Even though her body was begging to collapse on the hot ground and curl into a ball, she refused to shed a tear. She had to be strong not only for herself, but for the others that she hoped were still out there somewhere. Was there anybody out there? Mia didn't know.
"Carl, slow down." Rick's voice broke her thoughts. It was rigid and scratchy.
Carl didn't stop and continued to walk forward with his back turned. Mia frowned at his dismissive behavior but she couldn't blame him. He just his baby sister. She understood that better than anyone.
"Carl, stop!" Rick repeated loudly.
He came to a halt but didn't turn around. "We need to stay together. We got to find a place with food, supplies." When Carl still didn't respond, his father put his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, we're gonna. . ."
Carl looked over his shoulder and gave his dad a harsh glare. It made Mia take a step back in shock. The amount of time she had known him, he never acted cold toward his father. He looked up to the man and did everything he asked like a son was supposed to do. The glare sent chills down her arms.
Rick dropped his hand slowly and Carl took off again, not sparing her a single look. Mia felt her heart drop. When Rick stayed in his place, she glanced up and him and gently touched his arm. "Come on."
She kept ahold of his arm and walked alongside him as he limped forward. Tears pricked her eyes again, remembering her own father.
Continuing down the road, the three of them spotted an abandoned building with mother cycles parked in the front. Mia looked around for any sight of a person but there was no one. When they got to the door, she and Carl took out their guns while Rick quickly opened the door. "Wait outside, okay? Keep watch." He instructed.
"You keep watch." Carl said back with an attitude.
Mia was startled. "Carl—"
"You can barely stand. I'm not gonna let you go in there alone."
"Excuse me?" Rick snapped.
"We've done this before. I'm gonna help you clear it. You should just let me do it myself." Carl argued with him.
Mia felt hurt that he wasn't even acknowledging her. An awkward silence fell over them and the father and son glared into each other's crystal clear eyes. Rick eventually gave up and put his hand on the door knob. "Let's go."
They held their guns up again and Rick opened the door. The three quickly entered the building. Mia kept her back close to the wall so that nothing would sneak up on her. She kept her finger hovered over the trigger. She peered into the open rooms. "Kitchen's clear." She heard Rick say.
Carl peaked his head into one of the rooms and pushed open the door, the squeaking filling the quiet building. Mia followed behind him with her gun raised. The room was trashed with tables flipped over and trash littering the ground. Faint snarling made the silence go away and their eyes went to the darkest part of the room. Mia tightened the grip on her gun and a walker appeared from the shadows. Its snarling grew louder when it spotted the humans. A mountain of stuff was pulled into a makeshift wall to keep it from escaping.
Rick pointed to a shelf full of hot sauces. "That might be all that's left."
Mia remembered that she had a knife in her pocket. "Do you want me to get it?" She questioned m.
He shook his head. "No, it's only one."
Carl went on and pointed the gun at the walker. "I can get it from here." He stated with confidence.
"No. It's weak." Rick said again. "I'll draw it out."
His fingers skimmed over a sheet of paper that laid on the table. Please do what I couldn't was written.
"Stay back."
Mia stepped back while Carl stood there stubbornly. Rick pulled one of the chairs out and the mountain of stuff collapsed. The walker moved forward and he slammed his ax into its head. When he tried to pull it out, it was stuck. "Damn it." He cursed.
Mia went to take her knife out and plunge it into the walker's skull but Carl beat her to it and shot a bullet through it's brain. Her eyes widened.
"I said not to!" Rick snapped once the walker fell to the floor.
"You couldn't do it with the ax!"
"I had it. Every bullet counts. What if you needed that one later?"
Mia stood awkwardly to the side and watched the father and son fight.
"See what you can find. Then let's move on." Rick said and turned his back. He ripped the axe from the walker's head, blood spurting out.
When he exited the room, Mia turned to Carl. "What was that?" She snapped.
For the first time since they left the prison, he looked at her. "What?" He spoke as if he did nothing wrong.
"Why are acting like this?"
"Like what?"
She rolled her eyes. "Stubborn, cocky, annoying. . . Want me to go on?"
Carl rolled his eyes too. "Stop being dramatic."
"I'm not being dramatic, I'm being practical. Stop arguing with your dad and just do what he says." Mia jeered.
"You don't know what you're talking about." The boy said rudely and stormed out of the room.
She clamped her mouth shut in shock. Her shoulders slumped again. Looking around the room, Mia sighed and went to look for food and supplies. She walked past the blue eyed boy on her way, ignoring him, and walked into the kitchen with Rick. They began raiding the cabinets. Bread. Jars of pickles and peanut butter. Other boxes of snacks. In the fridge she found bottles of water, bottles of ketchup and mustard, mayo, and fruits. Stuffing it in her bag, she followed Rick out.
"The kitchen wasn't empty after all." He announced to Carl. Him and Mia put all their stuff on the table. "This is our haul. How about you?"
Carl showed off all his stuff and looked his dad in the eyes. "I win."
Mia rolled her eyes. "This isn't a competition."
"I found more than you so I would say it is."
A scowl crossed her face. She glared at him, not liking the sudden attitude.
The sun had went down by the time Mia and them came across an abandoned neighborhood. There wasn't a single soul in sight when she looked around her. She had her share of stuff she found slung over her back while Rick carried the rest. Carl walked ahead of them again, completely ignoring them, which only made her more angry. "Hey." Said Rick. His call was ignored. "Hey."
The blank act of disrespect he was showing shook Mia to her core. Walking past one of the houses, Rick stopped him again. Carl turned around in annoyance. His father nodded his head to the house they stood in front of. "That one's as good as any."
The boy said nothing and walked toward the white house. Mia took out her gun when they walked up the porch to the front door. Carl kicked the door in and they quickly entered, looking around. Seeing that it was trashed, Mia stepped over the stuff on the floor and slowly walked into the kitchen. Spinning around with her gun raised, there was nobody, so she shuffled her feet forward and around the counter to another door that exited out of the room. Across from her, Carl came out of the living room.
"Carl, Mia." Rick said to them from the other end of the hall.
"I got it." Carl said back.
Mia stood there, quietly.
"All the doors down here are open."
Rick had enough. "Just stop!" He hissed in anger.
Mia's eyes widened slightly. It was the first time Rick had gotten stern with him. Carl dropped his gun and turned to face him, almost challengingly. Mia looked between the father and son cautiously. Carl banged his first against the wall. "Hey asshole!"
She jumped back and immediately retaliated. "Carl!"
"Hey shit face! Hey—"
"Watch your mouth!" Rick shouted over him and wheezed out a breath.
He titled his head. "Are you kidding me? If there was ones of them down there, they would have come out."
Mia was perplexed by his attitude. Even when they first met and he acted like he didn't like her, he wasn't this bad. Glaring at his father, Carl walked down the hall and left the two standing. Deciding to ignore it, she turned a corner and walked up the stairs to the upstairs rooms. She kept her gun in her hands. Hearing footsteps, she looked back to see Carl following her.
Mia looked back ahead of her and walked into one of the rooms. There wasn't a walker or human in sight. Carl did the same thing across the hall. The room had light pink walls that matched the light pink pillows that sat on top of a dark grey comforter. There were clothes thrown on the ground along with crumpled up papers. Posters hung intact on the walls. A bookshelf sat in the corner of the room by a bay window. Tons of books were still on the shelf, others sprawled out on the floor, as if whoever the room belonged to was trying to get them quickly.
Mia was drawn to them. There was everything from Stephen King to Jane Austen. The posters on the walls were of young Johnny Depp snd singers such as Taylor Swift and Pink Floyd. It was almost like her old bedroom.
She walked out of the room and went across the hall. Carl stood in the middle. It was a boy's bedroom almost in the same state as hers. A bookshelf on the corner filled with books and comic books. Clothes on the floor. Posters on the walls. "Suits you." She voiced, gaining his attention.
The smile on his face fell. "Not really."
Mia sighed. "Okay." She walked over to the bookshelf and picked up a copy of The Grapes of Wrath. "Grapes of Wrath. A good choice."
"I'll take your word for it." He stated and watched her flick through the book.
She half way smiled at the playfulness in his tone. The blue eyed boy walked toward the TV stand and grabbed one of the comic books, smiling at it. It quickly vanished when he saw his reflection in the dark screen. Mia frowned. Carl yanked the cord out from the back and unplugged it. Before he could storm out, she stopped him. "Carl—"
Carl spun around. "What?" He snapped.
She flinched back. "Don't talk to me like that."
The look on his face read that he wanted to argue but inside, he didn't. Instead, he stayed quiet and left the room, leaving her alone. For the thousandth time that day, Mia sighed in defeat.