HEART OF GLASS
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE !
[ season three, episode three ]
He didn't know if he trusted Woodbury yet.
The place seemed too good to be true. Walls, a community, supplies for days, and sentries marking every slab of raised metal suspended around the place. Theo hadn't seen anything like it since Before ─ even then, the houses weren't nearly as refined and pristine. He just couldn't get his head around it.
Woodbury was a village thriving in a world corrupted by grief and the dead, led by someone who called himself the "Governor." Well, referred to as. He tried to be modest about it, but Theo wasn't blind; a title and a nickname were two entirely different things, and it was a title that stuck. The Governor gained pleasure being addressed as the community's superior.
"I don't trust him." Michonne said as the trio strolled through the bustling village.
Only an hour prior, they had breakfast with the Governor and a strange, science-obsessed man named Milton. It had been a fairly awkward affair, brimming with small talk and forced conversation. Milton had been curious to know if the trio thought walkers possessed any inkling of their past-selves ─ perhaps an echo.
No. They didn't. Not even an whisper.
Andrea frowned, bemused, "Why not?"
Michonne stared distastefully at one of the Woodbury soldiers up ahead. He had been at the crash-site, armed with a sleek bow and a quiver of arrows. When he saw Michonne staring, his brow creased.
"Have you ever trusted anybody?" Andrea added, walking backward to discern Michonne's expression more clearly.
But Michonne's face was like stone: unmoving and undetectable. Her gaze shifted to Andrea's face, and she narrowed her eyes, "Yeah."
"Then give this a day or two, that's all I'm asking. Some time to get our shit together."
"My shit never stopped being together." Michonne retorted boldly.
To the right, there was a gathering of people dotted around the lawn of someone's house. Staring at the mingling group of adolescents and young adults, Theo became distracted from Andrea and Michonne's unfolding conversation ─ their intermixing voices faded to a dull hum at the back of his head.
He hadn't seen people his age for months. Funnily enough, Theo was of the belief people under the age of thirty-five simply didn't exist anymore; he thought he was the only teenager left to dwell on earth's rotten remains.
Apparently not.
Dotted around the lawn were around ten adolescents, just as pristine as the village as a whole. Theo counted and debated. They all looked friendly enough, grinning blissfully about something being discussed by an older woman at the head of the procession.
With his mind made up, Theo turned to his comrades, "I'll catch up with you later," he said, gesturing to the clan of young people.
Almost instantaneously, Michonne's head whipped to the side, her eyes incredulous and intense enough that they burned holes into Theo's skin. Appearing only mildly surprised by the unprecedented turn of events, Andrea's mouth tightened.
Theo scoffed, "What? I'll be three metres away, if that."
"I don't trust these people." Michonne argued, unsheathing her stubbornness.
"Well, there's only one way to find out what they're like." Theo riposted nonchalantly, already stepping away from the two women. He raised his arms and shrugged in an infuriatingly ostentatious way. He wasn't taking it quite as seriously as Michonne desired. "I'll be fine."
Before she had the opportunity to retort or completely shut his attempts at conciliation down, Andrea placed a hand on Michonne's arm, shaking her head in a not-so-subtle manner.
Seeing the hesitancy in the woman with dreadlocks, Theo offered further reassurance by reiterating his statement from earlier, "I'll be fine."
He wasn't sure how much truth was in that. He wasn't even sure if he believed the words himself. However, without putting any inkling of trust in Woodbury and it's people, his fear of the worst possible outcome would never dissipate, and they would never unveil their true intentions. He had to tackle the apprehension and the uncertainty head on, and he had to put himself into the danger zone to actually achieve something. Michonne would rather figure these people out in her own secluded way, and Andrea would rather interrogate anyone she happened upon.
So Theo would do it his own way, too.
He approached the brick-red house, and stopped behind a tall boy with a mop of shaggy black hair who was amongst the gathering. Theo folded his hands and craned his neck around the boy's shoulder to decipher the woman standing at the foot of the lawn.
"─a reminder that your efforts have gone a long way in helping the most vulnerable members of our community. For that, the Governor extends his gratitude."
As the woman spoke, she grinned contentedly, and a scattered chorus of applause sounded out around him.
Upon further scrutiny, Theo saw that the woman had corn-blonde hair weaved into a plait that was draped over one shoulder, a dark tattoo smeared across her collarbone, and sparkling blue eyes crinkled by age. She was at least thirty, and carried a rifle.
Someone in the crowd noticed Theo, and their brows furrowed in mild confusion. They tapped their friends' arm and pointed. Theo pretended not to notice the pair staring introspectively at him as the woman continued with her speech.
"The commencement of a new week means new tasks." she explained. In her hand was a crinkled sheet of paper, and she unfurled it, but did not yet indulge the audience with the undisclosed content. "This time, I decided to change it up. To existing attendees, you have been given new tasks to fulfil. And to our newest attendees, you have been given the opportunity to try something different. If anyone has an issue, please raise it with me once the meeting has concluded."
She cleared her throat.
"Helping replenish stock and tending to the crops ─ Hanna, Nico, Madeline. Working with the elderly, the children, and the schooling system ─ Jodi and Samuel. Cleaning down weapons and helping in the armoury ─ Callum and Leslie. Lastly, aiding the Governor and our militia when necessary is ─ Bev and Ewan."
There was a scattered grumbling in the crowd. Some were evidently displeased by whatever . . . tasks had been set for them. Some were more than pleased.
In a way, the audience's reactions angered Theo. He had battled the dead beyond their structured-community's fortified walls, cheated death an uncountable amount of times that it felt almost unfair, and never found himself complaining about the unfortunate circumstances once. He never took anything for granted.
Clearly, these residents hadn't seen the state of the world out there. If they had, they wouldn't be whining about something so ordinary. About something so menial when compared to the things scuttling around in their old, broken, dead world.
"Hey!" someone exclaimed all of a sudden, taking Theo completely off guard.
He whipped his head around in alarm and stumbled back a pace or two, survival instincts rushing to the surface. No need. An Asian boy stared back at him, his expression dropping cloddishly. He appeared to shrink back inside himself at Theo's obvious reluctance, his obvious fear. "Sorry. Didn't realise I was so loud."
But Theo quickly waved his hand, though his heart was still thumping wildly against his chest, "You weren't. I was just in a world of my own. I'm Theo."
"Ewan." He thrust his hand out. Hesitantly, Theo reached forward and shook it. Ewan's fingers were clammy and cold, and Theo was quickly realising this guy probably hadn't been over the walls since the dead first started walking. He seemed too unscathed for that, both mentally and physically. "So, what brings you to Woodbury?"
"A man with a superiority complex, and crippling hunger." Theo said neutrally.
"Oh."
Ah ─ Ewan also didn't understand the art of sarcasm. Visibly. That was somewhat expected.
Ewan's eyes narrowed, and he ran a thumb along the messy patchwork thread holding his tattered denim-jacket together. Like a dam, the jacket was close to bursting, each fraying thread hanging on by . . . a thread. It was probably an ancient relic that he refused to let go of, a lingering reminder of his life before it was dipped in poison and left to dry.
Theo shifted from one foot to the other, desperate to shatter the awkward silence slipping into the void between the two strangers, "Don't worry, I ate."
"That's good," Ewan blurted immediately, his features slackening with relief at the turning point in conversation. "I used to be in charge of the pantry and the stock ─ we have a lot. Sometimes I don't understand where it all comes from. We're in a pretty secluded area."
"Cool."
Admittedly, Theo was beginning to regret his decision to leave Andrea and Michonne's side. Small talk was the absolute bane of his existence, and yet there he stood smothered by the inescapable forces of it, like squeezing water from a stone. Ewan seemed kind enough, but his conversational techniques with someone who had just been dragged in from the side of the road were poor and uncomfortable and obviously a last resort.
Wanting to discuss the more interesting topic at hand, Theo gestured to the dispersing crowd, "What was all of that about, anyways?"
"Youth club," Ewan stated. He nodded as he spoke, which was a trait that Theo quickly noticed about his demeanour. "Helen created it in the early days. She wanted us to have something to do, to take our minds off the unfortunate new reality of the world. It's worked up to now. We help around whenever and wherever we can. It's a well-needed distraction."
"Who's Helen?"
"Her." Ewan pointed a slender finger at the woman with the corn-blonde braid who had given the speech earlier. She was talking to a young girl in the midst of the pampered lawn, hands planted firmly on her hips.
Here in Woodbury, it was clear Helen had power ─ not as much as the Governor, but enough to assert her dominance over the people. Everyone treated her with respect. Everyone had a role, a position, too.
Here in Woodbury, there was also a hierarchy. Some people were more worthy than others. Some were more worthy of saving, if the time came and their lives were endangered. That was wrong. That was where the problems would begin to unfold.
"Were you interested in participating?" Ewan inquired formally, coaxing Theo's wandering attention back to him. "You can─"
"Ewan!" someone called, accompanied by the sound of jogging footsteps.
It was Helen. She was barrelling toward them, her mouth drawn into a tight-lipped smile that did little to shroud her obvious inquisitiveness over Theo's appearance. The community probably didn't see new people that often.
Ewan jabbed his thumb in Theo's direction, "Hey, Helen. This is Theo ─ he's a newbie."
"Yes, I can see that."
The woman's eyes were similar to Michonne's; dark and pensive, overly scrutinising to the point she made him feel uncomfortable, burrowing deep beneath his flesh. When compared, Helen's eyes were colourless slates ─ the colour of the ocean when seized by a storm ─ whereas Michonne's held a comforting sort of warmth that made Theo feel welcome. And he didn't feel welcome around Helen, that was for sure.
Suddenly, her slate-grey gaze was pinned to him, "When did you arrive, Theo?"
"Last night." he answered stiffly.
He was beginning to understand Michonne's perspective now. Trusting complete strangers was harder than he expected.
"Well, can I help you with anything?" Helen prompted kindly, displaying a porcelain-smile that was more fake than the picket-fence encircling the lawn. "We have a youth club. Would you be interested?"
"I only just got here." Theo nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I think I need to test the waters first, get used to this place."
"The best way to do that is by joining. You can help Ewan here. He's been tasked with aiding the Governor and the militia, alongside Bev. It could be a good way of developing your skills in combat ─ unless they're already sharpened enough?"
Okay, woah. She talked a lot.
Feeling apprehensive, Theo rolled onto the balls of his feet and back to his heels again. And again. He gestured openly to nothing in particular just for something to do with his hands, "I mean, I can use a bow."
"Great!" Helen exclaimed. She patted Ewan on the shoulder so hard he jerked forward, almost losing his balance. Taking no notice, she grinned. "You can start helping around tomorrow. Ewan can be your buddy."
Theo's swallowed through a sandpaper throat. He shook his head and frowned, "I don't─"
"See you both here tomorrow. Same time." Helen interrupted. With haste, she span around on the heel of her combat-boot and stalked away.
Awkwardly, Ewan rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat, turning to Theo, "She does that a lot. Puts people under pressure so they can't so no. It's her specialty."
"Is it? I never noticed." Theo returned drily.
Ewan opened his mouth to say something else, but there was a disturbance by the gates that called for their attention. Disturbance meaning something Theo wasn't particularly fond of showing interest in. But he saw Michonne and Andrea headed toward it, and reluctantly joined the crowd migrating across the road.
It was then he saw the Governor standing atop some sort of military-graded vehicle ─ a truck of sorts, equipped with an elongated gun poking through the hood. Formidable enough should a herd attempt to infiltrate Woodbury. Extensive enough that it made him wonder where he had gotten it from.
Something like that didn't just show up on the doorstep of a fortified community
"We brought in three new people yesterday," the Governor began, his voice carrying over the crowd. "One was a helicopter pilot with a National Guard outfit."
Theo glanced sidelong at Michonne and Andrea. The former caught his wandering eye, and the expression pinned upon her face was not at all pleasant. Far from it. They both had their suspicions, but had gathered little to no evidence to draw together a viable conclusion.
The Governor looked down at the many faces scattered around the vehicle. He was right where he wanted to be ─ towering above everyone, making sure they knew exactly where he stood in terms of succession.
"Even though he's clinging to life . . ." He continued in a melancholy tone, "he told us about his convoy on the highway. His men."
The Governor lowered his gaze to the ground and shook his head solemnly, expression brimming with sorrow. Behind him, the armed soldiers nodded. They didn't look sad.
"I promised I'd bring them back here alive. But they didn't have our walls. Or our fences . . . Biters got there before we did."
Ewan gasped quietly, shaking his head to display his sadness at the situation. Everyone else in the crowd had a similar reaction. Everyone but Andrea, Michonne and Theo, all of whom remained placid despite the gnarly details of the military mens' deaths.
"Now, the men had trucks, the trucks had weapons, food, medicine, things we need." The Governor explained, propping his hands on his hips. Even his stance screamed figurehead. "We didn't know them, but we'll honour their sacrifice by not taking what we have here for granted." His smile was weary. "Won't be long before dark, so go on home."
Completely taking Theo by surprise, the Governor's eyes wandered until they landed on Andrea, "Be grateful for what you have here." And then Michonne. "Watch out for each other."
And then Theo.
But the Governor just smiled at him before jumping down from the top of the vehicle. He sauntered away with his men flanking either side of him, and the crowd scattered instantaneously, each person scurrying away to the safety of their homes.
"See you later." Ewan said. There was a woman who looked indistinctly similar to him waiting on the sidewalk. "It was nice meeting you."
"Yeah. See you."
Sluggishly, Theo raised a hand and waved. Then, as soon as Ewan was out of sight, he rushed to Michonne's side. She was staring at the new, lavish military-grade truck, her eyes drawn sharp with confusion.
"What is it?" Theo inquired, though he almost wished he hadn't.
Because when Michonne brushed a gloved-hand over the bullet holes marring the spotless paint-work of the vehicle, Theo realised with a sinking feeling that this town was a place of nightmares, and it wasn't some sort of blessing in disguise.
But . . . perhaps his agreement with Ewan and Helen was. Tasked with aiding the Governor and the militia? Working for the youth club? They had unknowingly given him leverage.
He could delve deep into the inner-workings of Woodbury undetected. Uncover the secrets behind the militias' explorations out into the deeper world, where they brought back vehicles decorated with bullet-holes from a military camp.
And it all begged the question. Was Woodbury corrupt? Theo would soon find out.
As his grandmother always used to say ─ it takes a single wild ember to bring a whole wildfire to life.
Theo would be the wild ember. And if he unveiled a darkness that the corrupt community had tried to smother, then the Governor would surely burn in the wildfire he ignited.
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
[ wild embers, by nikita gill ]
okay so the youth club is my attempt
at giving Woodbury more depth, and
theo an excuse to work his way into
the Governor's secret spaces etc - like
his little creepy apartment.
marley chapter next!