I heard Maggie bang on the side of the container to tell us that it was finally time to go. As I had been up beforehand anyways I immediately collected my weapons together again and opened the large doors to go back outside. I turned to corner to see my dad, Maggie and Leigh.
"I am never sleeping in somethin' like that again." I complain and run my aching back. "Ever."
A growl of a walker nearby was heard. Elijah perked up and quickly ran over to it, stabbing it with his weapon. I furrow my brows at the sight of the walker, who was suppose to be on watch?
"Isn't your friend supposed to be on watch?" Cole spoke up, referring to Kelly as she was the only one missing.
"She ain't here?" I ask and he shook his head. I let out a small groan, "She couldn't have gotten far." I slung my bow on my back properly and left for the exit, making my way over to the woods.
The others quickly caught up though, Maggie marching on in front in a hurry. I didn't blame her, she clearly wanted to hurry up so we could find the rest of her group. I started following Kelly's tracks, that were imprinted in the thick mud below my heavy feet.
"You're a tracker?" A voice spoke behind me, I turned my head slightly to notice that it was Leigh. I hum in response before looking around for Kelly, in the distance was an abandoned truck with a figure on it. "Impressive." Leigh hummed to himself.
"One of the keys to survival nowadays." I muttered in concentration, looking up everyone now and again for movement in the woods.
"I guess you'll have to teach me sometime then." Leigh shrugged. I could sense the cheeky smile behind his mask.
A small grin which I couldn't hold back rose on my face, "Maybe."
In the distance was a truck and we quickly went over to it to check to see if Kelly was there. The tracks led to the back of the truck where Kelly obviously climbed up. Dangling from the side was a foot, belonging to Kelly. Maggie went up to the truck where Kelly was and grabbed her foot, causing Kelly to turn around with her slingshot aimed. As soon as she saw us she held back and stepped down.
"You left your post." Maggie stated.
"Sorry, I just..." Kelly began guiltily but Maggie continued in her annoyed tone.
"You can't go running off by yourself like that."
Dad then intervened, "Her sister's missin'." He muttered to Maggie and moved past her.
She let out a sorrowful sigh as Elijah climbed up the truck to see what was on top, Leigh followed behind him quickly.
"He just lost his too." Maggie nodded at Elijah. I noticed how both of the boy's posture changed at the mention of the sister, they were obviously a close group.
They started taking stuff from the top of the truck and threw it down. Kelly carefully picked up the stuff and closely inspected it but none of it was familiar. She stood up with a tired expression.
My hand reached her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze as Maggie nodded at her, "We have to go."
"I just had to try..." Kelly's voice almost cracked but she managed to hold it together, giving them a sorry look before we headed off again.
I walked alongside Kelly as we travelled further, "We'll find her. No matter how long it takes."
"I know. I'm not gonna give up on her..." She strongly replied and looked up at me. "She'd do the same for me."
"I get you're desperate to find her, I really do. But don't go runnin' off like that, you gave us a fright." I told her softly.
"Sorry, I just had a feeling..." She trailed off and shook her head. I decided not to press on the matter, allowing us to walk in silence. It wasn't awkward, mostly comfortable as we reached the break of the treeline.
However in the distance I saw smoke rising from the trees. Dad saw as he looked up and pointed his hand in the direction of the smoke.
"Crap." I heard Leigh worriedly mutter before him and Maggie took off into a sprint. Everyone else started to run after them including me, trying to match the speed of the worried people. The trees brushed and scratched me as I desperately ran to keep up with them.
We briefly came to a stop and watched the sight in front of us. Cole then whispered with a gasp, "It's them. They found us..."
Who is he talking about?
I had no time to ask other than continue to run, getting closer to the small house that was broken and on fire. Although I was only outside, I couldn't help but cough at the large amount of smoke that was coming out. My throat starting to feel dry and scratchy as my dad and Maggie rushed inside to look for her people. Elijah went to a different entrance as Cole and Kelly went round the back.
Leigh and I stayed outside just incase anyone new ran out. Due to Leighs's jumpyness he wanted to stay away from the burning building. He appeared completely on edge, whoever they thought started this clearly worried them. I certainly wanted to know why.
I placed my hand on his arm to hopefully comfort him, "Hey, it'll be okay. We're gonna find your people."
"They can't of found us- we made sure of it..." He panted out, fiddling with his crowbar in hand just in case. Just because she couldn't see his whole face, she could easily tell by the worried look in his eyes that he was panicking inside.
"Who? Who are they?" I asked, confusion lacing my voice but also worry for him.
"The Reapers."
I was stunned at first before furrowing my brows. "What the hell are Reapers?"
•
I bent down at the sight of more tracks, brushing some leaves out the way to get a proper look. My dad and I went to tracking Maggie's people quickly, including her son who she was worried sick about.
"They're scattered. Definitely running. All headed north." My dad told Maggie as we rose to our feet.
Maggie nodded sadly, "These people...if it's them-"
"We'll find them. I promise." I told her and shrugged my bow over my shoulder.
"Any more kids in your group?" Dad asked and looked at the tracks once again.
Maggie shook her head, "That's him." She then looked behind her and called everyone else over. "If anything's out there other than our people, we kill it."
We walked further into the woods, following the tracks below us. It didn't take long for us to follow it, there were some occasional walkers staggering over to us but they weren't a problem. The only problem was that we nearly lost the tracks of Hershel and the others, mostly because the trail started to slowly split.
"The trail splits here." My dad pointed out and we came to a stop.
"Hershel?" Maggie hoped.
"They're covered. But it doesn't mean he's lost." I told her and she gave me a sad smile, but of thanks.
"What now?" Kelly curiously spoke up.
"We split up." Dad suggested and I nodded. It would be the faster way however the knowledge of the various Reapers were quite unsettling.
Cole fired back firmly, "No way."
"Our people are out there. Splittin' up is the fasted way to find 'em." Maggie responded.
"And what if something finds us?"
"Do you not wanna find your people or somethin'?" I scoffed in annoyance.
"Stay alive." Maggie ordered him. "Daryl, Lilia and I cross. Keep headin' North, we'll catch up."
She then started to walk away, leaving Cole, Kelly, Leigh and Elijah in the other group. Dad and I followed, manovering around the trees but still keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.
Between the trees I saw some movement, a figure rushing through the trees. I nudged my dad and nodded over to it, the look on his face showed that he noticed too. He crept to one side and I followed, Maggie moved around and hid between some bushes. I took out my bow and dad had his knife ready, I loaded an arrow as we got behind one of the figures.
My dad grabbed the dark-haired woman by the hood, covering her mouth and holding his blade against her throat. More people immediately started to emerge from the bushes with their weapons high, I made myself noticeable and aimed my bow and arrow up.
"Lilia, Daryl, stand down! These are some of our people." Maggie demanded desperately and rushed up to her people, guiding then to a bit of shelter. Dad let go of the woman and muttered an awkward 'sorry' before we both went over to them. "What happened?"
"Well, everything was fine." One of the women started, named Maya. "And then the whole place was suddenly on fire."
"Who did it?" I asked her as she was shaking out of fear. Either because if the dangerous people lurking in the woods or because my dad tried to attack her like a salami slice.
"None of us saw. We just ran." She replied. "Jen and Billy, they didn't make it out. And something in the woods took out Matty. But we didn't get a clear look."
"We know who did it. The goddamn Reapers." One of the men said who was behind me, everyone shot their heads at him. "They're in these woods, and they're hunting us one by one."
"There's more of you guys?" I asked and Maggie nodded, she directed her attention to the other woman next to her.
"Where's Hershel?"
"Kim had him, he's around here somewhere."
"It's been hours. You're the first people we've seen." Maya then informed us.
A whizz was then heard, a bullet shot straight past us. The man next to me was shot in the throat, I instantly bobbed my head down. But the man was unlucky, blood spilling out of his neck despite the pressure he pushed on it.
He limped and leaned on me, his bloody hand clutching my shoulder until he eventually fell to the ground. I watched in horror as blood flooded out of his mouth, gurgling something which I couldn't make out. My hand covered his wound but he kept on choking on his blood. The crimson liquid which spilt out his neck and mouth stained my hands, until he was dead.
"Shit." I muttered and pulled my bloody hands away, looking up at the upset and scared faces of the new group. Another bullet soon whizzed over my head and hit a tree. "Run."
We all took off into a sprint through the woods, doing our best to avoid the quick fire of the bullets. I couldn't see where the gunshots were coming from, so I hid behind a tree as everyone else also reached cover.
I held my bow in front of me for safety and scanned the forest in front of the mysterious shooter. But there was no sign of him, apart from another gunshot near me and a yell from a woman.
I looked to the side and saw the previous woman laying on the ground, a bloody hand clutching her stomach. I worried myself at first, slowly stepping away from the tree in hopes to go help her, however another shot grazed the tree and I moved back quickly. The bullet just missed me.
I saw my dad poke his head around a tree, giving me a signal to stay put. I nodded and gripped my bow despite the lack of protection it would give me against a gun.
Maya then rushed over, running to her friend without any care. Maggie yelled at her to get down but she didn't hear, causing a bullet to shoot straight through her chest. She stumbled and fell to the ground, wheezing out quiet words to Maggie and pointing her fingers.
There was some muttering going off between Maggie and my dad before I heard her move, moving behind the gunfire. Probably to take him out from behind.
No other shots were going off so I went to help her, bending through the bushes on the opposite side. As I got closer I could see Maggie stop for a second before a look of confusion covered her face.
She looked over to me and pointed at a sniper placed on a log, then shaking her head. The person had gone. I gave her a nod that I understood and made my way towards her. She had her bow and I decided to take out my katana.
We carefully walked through the bushes and tried to make our steps as quiet as possible. Maggie kept her eyes up in the trees whilst I looked between the bushes incase the shooter was hiding.
A few snaps of branches behind startled me, however I knew it wasn't Maggie as she was a bit in front of me. I spun around quickly to see what made the sound, a man in a camouflage suit appeared. I attempted to try and make a swipe with my sword but the man missed it by inches and forcefully kicked me to the ground, my head harshly knocked on the back of a tree.
My vision went blurry for a few seconds, in that time the man started to attack Maggie. I tried to find my clattered sword on the ground, blindly brushing through the leaves to try and find it. My left eye was fuzzy and head felt like it was spinning but I placed my feet on the floor and stood up.
Maggie's foot got caught in a trap which left her defenseless and I could just see my dad coming through the bushes. My eye became clear again and instead of wasting time to find my sword I instead got out my bow which I had painfully landed on. I shot an arrow at the man's leg, but it was like it didn't even hurt him since his clothing was so thick.
He simply pulled it out of his leg and another one out of his chest, his suit was too bulky to puncture. My dad used his knife to try and attack him again, however the man easily overpowered him and punched him to the ground.
As his back was turned I took my chance, dropping my bow andntaking out my knives to stab him in the middle of his back. I pushed them through the thickness of his suit as hard as I could, hearing him hiss in pain slightly. He then elbowed me in my stomach, pushing me back a little bit.
I fumbled for my other knives despite feeling winded, but as I grabbed another one a fist collided with my face. The knife clattered out of my hand and I lost my balance. My eyesight going weak again, feeling some blood quickly trickle down my nose and the sour taste entering my mouth. As I was defenseless and dizzy in the ground, again, I watched the man take off his suit. My knives peeled out of his back which barely caused any damage apart from a small cut in his shirt underneath.
Suddenly another arrow shot the man's bare chest, surprising him slightly. It wasn't from my dad or Maggie, so when I looked up I was certainly surprised to see Kelly, Cole, Elijah and Leigh to appear.
Leigh came rushing next to me, lending a hand which I gladly took. He helped me up by my arm and I eventually gained my balance. I breathed out a quick thanks before we surrounded the man. I picked up the two knives which the man threw away, holding them firmly as Maggie questioned him. The man eyed up Leigh a bunch of times, his eyes flickering between him and Maggie with a disgusted expression towards Leigh.
"You're one of them, aren't you? You attacked our home, killed my friends, our family." Maggie hissed and held up her bow threateningly, clearly showing that she wasn't one to be messed with. Which she wasn't.
That's one of the things about Maggie. If you piss her off, it's game over. Although Maggie and I haven't been in contact in a while, it was still clear that she wouldn't allow anyone to cross her.
"Why'd you do this? We did nothing to you." The man still didn't reply. He just stared at us all through his painted eyes and dirty face. "Who are you? What do you call yourselves? I know it's just you out here, so you can answer my questions or die, it's your choice."
The man dropped his knife calmly and reached into his pocket, before he took out his hand he answered her question with a confusing answer, "Pope marked you." He then looked at Leigh, who was trying to keep his composure but I noticed how his hands were scrunching up into fists very tightly. It was almost like he was trying to stop himself from ripping the guy apart.
"Pope wants you back."
Suddenly the man opened his hand to show a grenade without the pin.
"Get down!" Maggie yelled.
Everyone stumbled back for cover. I turned my back and had my hands covering my ears, Leigh was next to me with arms over my back for safety. I would've appreciated the gesture then and there however the blast went off almost instantly, but I also didn't understand what the man meant when he spoke to Leigh.
It only lasted a few seconds but felt like a lifetime as dirt and grime covered our backs. Once it was over we stood up cautiously, behind us was the blown up pieces of the man.
Leigh slowly moved his arm off my back and stepped away as I brushed myself off. It didn't make a difference as my hands were covered in dried blood from before. I then went back to try and find my katana I previously dropped.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to be met with Leigh. He was holding my katana out to me.
"Looking for something?" He asked teasingly, hoping to lighten the mood between us. I gladly took it and put it back in its sheath carefully, which allowed him to catch a glimpse of my bloody hands. His eyes changed to concern. "You okay?"
I looked down at my hands and let out a sad sigh before balling them up. "It's...not mine." I admitted and his face went dimmer. It was obvious he was upset over his friends, I would be too. I placed a hand on his arm consolingly. "I'm sorry about your friends."
He nodded in thanks but stayed silent.
"What did he mean...'Pope wants you back'?" I then asked.
He was silent for a second, picking his finger for a distraction before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. These guys are freaks."
I nodded in response, a bit of understanding however it wasn't a straight answer. However Maggie and her new crew knew them better than we did, all I could do is take his word for it despite how uncertain his tone was when replying.
I then heard a mutter of my name behind me, it was my dad. He nodded me over and told me we were gonna try and find Hershel. He can't be that far. So Maggie, Dad and I went to find him whilst the rest of the group found proper shelter again back at the containers.
There weren't any tracks to follow so we were sort of blindly walking through the woods, Maggie was in front whilst looking up in the trees. My dad was slightly behind near the bushes and I was close to Maggie. She was then knocked by something which caused her to look up and then break out with a smile.
I raised my head to see a young boy in a tree, swinging his legs with a simple smile. His hair was dark and face was sweet and innocent. He was the spitting image of his father.
It was Hershel.
"Hi mom." He grinned as he sat on the branch. We all smiled as he climbed down, running to Maggie and giving her a hug. She squeezed him tightly, all her worries rushing away. She then turned him around and bent down to be level with him, nodding over to me.
I smiled and bent down as he walked up to me. He appeared shy at first, "Hey, remember me?" I ask and tilted my head, watching his face turn into a smile of realisation.
"Lia!" He remembered and then wrapped his arms around my neck. Maggie chuckled as I hugged him, my arms around his waist. "My mom told my stories about you and everyone."
"Oh yeah? Stories about Aunt Lilia, the best one ever?" I whispered the last part as we both let go of each other.
He let out a high chuckle, "Something like that."
I admired his familiar face, bringing my hands to his cheeks. "It's been so long since I've seen you little dude. You used to be so tiny." I let go and then stood up.
"C'mon, we should find the others, before it gets dark." Maggie told us.