TERRANCE | POV
My feet trudged through the thick snow on the road. I looked around to see Derrick and Damien taking shovels out to the other to clean up the roads since we still had working cars. We were overdue for a scavenging run anyways.
"I'm going to go talk to Ray about going out on a scavenge tomorrow." I said to Damien.
Damien raised his up his gloved hand. "Sure thing."
The cold made me duck my mouth into my jacket. Every time I let out a breath, I could see the hot air meet the cold air. Too cold.
I walked into the community shelter and began gathering a few of the survivors that had shown up last month. So far it had been the biggest we've come across. Around thirty. A few of them being military men and women.
At least now I knew we would have more than enough people on guard at all the watch posts around us.
"Marshall! Ramos! Can you go bring around shovels to people in the town to help speed things up?" I asked.
They nodded up and down and headed down towards the storage sheds for tools we have collected around town. Me on the other hand went over to the council house that consisted of Ray, Monique, Damien and Carmella.
The council makes most of the important decisions around town. Who lives where, what job everyone does, at least Damien tried to keep things fair.
Unlike Ray & Monique. Carmella stays neutral most of the time.
I closed the front door too see Damien and Carmella talking at the round table in the center of the room.
"A storm is coming." Carmella said.
What they were talking about wasn't a secret. Everyone knew this weather and temperature, plus the area we were in. It was only a matter of time before we we're getting hit with a brutal storm.
The only reason we were sure was because Ray was able to escape it on a run back into town for supplies.
We were prepared because of him right now, even is he is an asshole. It still didn't make things any easier anyway, being prepared came first.
I nodded my head at Carmella & Damien and headed out. I didn't go there for them anyways, I wanted a word with Ray.
DAMIEN | POV
I was worried about Terrance and his unsettled problems with Ray. They were putting the priority's of everyone else in danger.
With the conditions and the weather getting worse, this fabled storm had most people scared to death like some sort of deadly plague.
People were scared, and you couldn't blame them. We would be lucky if we made it through the winter to say the least. We were lucky the bad part of the storm wasn't here just yet.
Time to prepare was running low.
Me and Miguel would have to go around helping guys out with their jobs around town. If we didn't, things could get ugly, fast.
It went without saying I felt like an asshole for leaving Derrick on a shift by himself, but I had to focus on the overall well being of this whole place.
That wasn't the only thing I felt bad for though. I had my brother Javon taking care of Imani almost all hours of the day since Mom was going on patrols now with Ray and Marshall.
If we were going to make it through the winter I would need to light a spark in everyone that would last the next long, hard few months.
Everything was beginning to settle.
FAITH | POV
Upset at the current situation would be a severe understatement. I wasn't counting out Damien and Carmella's ability to rally everyone toher here, but truth be told.
We've never been more divided.
It didn't help that Damien was almost always busy or out on some sort of hunt or scavenge with Carmella and Miguel.
Andrea tried to console me the past few weeks.
Me and her had a lookout job for today since guards would be running low from how many of our own were out on either patrol or scavenging anything we could before the storm got too bad.
I rubbed my face with the palm of my hands, wiping my eyes clear of morning gunk. I clinched my coat and swiftly put it on as I was already late for my lookout shift.
Ray was gonna be pissed.
Mad at myself I stormed out of the front door of a living unit in D - Section.
I lived there with Damien and Carmella.
It was definitely nice, but it had its downsides.
My post was set up right outside of the surrounding fences and the main entrance gate. Since I was running late I figured Andrea had already arrived to the lookout.
I started to run down the road.
ANDREA | POV
Early bird gets the worm.
Faith was running late. I didn't blame her. There really wasn't much to see out here anyway. At least I got the benefit of Ray not being on my ass for not being here.
I held my thought as my eyes locked onto Faith running through the front entrance down towards our lookout station.
"Hey stranger!" I said jokingly to Faith as she climbed the ladder up to me.
"Oh hush." she sighed sarcastically.
She planted herself on a red seat next to me.
"Ya see anything interesting out here yet?" She asked.
"Nope nothing really." I answered.
"Good then this should be an easy shift." She remarked.
I looked around us again, not seeing anything but instead noticing a slight fog it was getting hard to see.
The storm was getting closer.
"It's getting kinda hard to see out here." I thought out loud.
"Yeah we probably shouldn't go down there to take out any walkers, the storm will probably get them anyways." Faith suggested.
"Definitely." I said.
I sat down in the chair beside her. "So what's up with you and Damien? I teased.
She looked up at me and smiled. "How'd you know?"
"I see things." I answered.
"If you say so." Faith nodded.
DAMIEN | POV
Already feeling exhausted from helping around town all day I sat inside one of the community campers for a moment.
I rubbed my hands together for heat. The campers didn't provide as much insulation as I thought it would. My fingers felt numb.
As I thought about what I should help with next, I decided I'd go check up on Faith and Andrea. They were on there shift so I'm sure they could use a visit.
I opened the flimsy door and walked down the stairs out of the camper. I started down the road towards the lookout station. I put my gloves on in an attempt to warm up my hands overtime.
At least I did feel a little better about the walkers being able to get to me now that I had all these thick layers of clothes on.
They're bite is pretty strong though.
As I walked the road I heard a distressed yelling tone coming from the east gate.
I ran towards the commotion.
"Arghh! Fuck!"
A man yelled swiftly dashing across my line of sight holding his shoulder that was noticeably bloody and badly hurt.
I quickly opened the east fenced gate and attempted to follow his trace through the nearby woods. the snow made the foot prints easy to point out.
Not only that but the blood that had trailed behind him as well from the wound.
I stopped dead in my path once I started to realize where his trail was taking me.
It would be dangerous to follow the man further, he was now in a trapped area. citizens in Bush Park had placed them there for walkers to stop them coming from the woods and piling up on the fence.
Our east wall was definitely the weakest.
I wasn't familiar with the spots and areas the traps had been set up as I wasn't part of the team that had gone out and placed them in the first place.
To be fair I never thought I'd be out here anyways, it's supposed to be off limits. It's marked as a danger zone in the maps back in town.
I had to make a decision.
TERRANCE | POV
Finally the door creaked open and Ray stepped inside sitting at the round table.
Felt like I'd been waiting forever for him to get back. "Got word you wanted to speak to me?" Ray questioned me.
"Yeah." I sat forward closer in my chair.
It was silent so I spoke again.
"I wanted to be put on a scavenging shift with some other community members since we are running low on all types of resources right now." I asked.
Ray sighed. "I can't do that."
"Why not?" I questioned him.
"Too risky and I'd be letting you put other at risk." Ray tried to explain to me.
I stood up from my chair. "Then I'll do it alone."
"Can't let you do that either." Ray stood up from his chair.
Before he walked out the door he began to speak again. "Do me a favor man, go home."
The door shut behind him.
I slammed my closed fist on the table.
"Dammit!"
FAITH | POV
The cold air hut my neck sending cold chills down my back. So far so good i thought to myself. Andrea was sitting a feet feet away from me looking around.
Not much to see though.
"How much longer we got up here?" I asked her.
"About half an hour." She responded.
I could manage that.
I fiddled with the seams coming off of my pants leg. I couldn't stop thinking about me when I was younger a miss the times when I thought my problems were so bad. They were but not this bad.
More than anything I wish I rekindled our relationship sooner. Now the world went to shit. I wanted this to be over.
I was startled and ripped out of my thought when I heard a loud deep yell.
I shot up in my chair and looked around.
Andrea grabbed my shoulder and pointed to a man running towards the woods yelling while in full sprint.
"Look." She pointed.
Eventually he got to far to see in the fogged up snowy terrain around us.
We both looked at each other. We knew we could barley see anything down there so walkers or any other danger would be out of sight. It was dangerous and so were the winds. We both began to climb down the ladder. I guess we just both couldn't live knowing that we let him die.
We ran in the direction in the woods even though it was more like a jog because of the thick snow below out feet slowing us down.
"Can you see him?" Andrea called to me.
"Um no!" I shouted.
We were getting a litte far from our station back at the gate. For a moment we stopped running.
"We might have lost him." Andrea suggested.
"Shit." I murmured.
CARMELLA | POV
I hadn't seen Damien all day and I decided I wanted to check on him since he seemed pretty upset with Monique the other day.
I walked down the steps from a camper I was resting up inside of and continued down a dirt road. I figured he'd be at his usual spot. If I want to find him there that's where I go. If not I'll find him later.
When I got there something was off. He wasn't there and his belongings were left behind. I searched in the few rooms in the camper and didn't find him.
He left his belt with his knife and backpack. I guess he took the gun.
I wasn't too worried because I knew he was probably still in town somewhere.
I left the camper and walked down a road leading the the east gate. When I got there I found it wide open, now I was worried. I was building a story in my head and I didn't know if it was true.
Damien left from within the walls outside with no supplies that he would definitely need out there. I decided to head towards Ray so I could tell him about this and figure out where he went.
DAMIEN | POV
I trudged through the snow still searching. I knew I had to turn back soon, it was getting bad out here fast
Walking on a upward slope was harder due to the snow. It felt like I was moving so low not getting anywhere with my efforts.
The sun would set soon.
I didn't have much longer out here. I'd have to turn back and give up the chase.
When I mounted the top of the higher elevation of ground around me I stumbled upon the man's cold corpse.
It was bloody by the neck. There was an arrow attached. He was shot by someone nearby. My alertness was heightened.
It seemed as if he was crawling away to a nearby ledge. The drop wouldn't have saved him though. It was a long drop into the almost fully frozen over river below.
I stood up from my knees and pulled the arrow from the man's neck.
A voice made me whip around.
"Hands in the air." The voice shouted.
Reluctantly I throw the arrow on the ground and put my hands in the air.
"Good now walk backwards towards me slowly." The voice started to calm slightly lowering from a yelling, loud tone.
I shuffled backwards through the snow trying to turn my head to see who I was being held up by.
"Keep your head straight, don't turn around." They said firmly.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"It doesn't matter." They insisted.
It's silent for a moment. "You have a camp?"
I dont want to comprise the safety of everyone back home. I stayed silent.
From the sound of their voice I could tell it was a woman.
She kicked my back pushing me onto my knees. Instantly a few other survivor came around from the trees. They were with her.
They pushed my face against the cold ground and restrained me with rope.
"Get off me!" I wriggle around in their grasp breaking my necklace.
"You're coming with us." They shove a bag over my head.
Everything is black.
TERRANCE | POV
How'd Damien get into this bullshit. I thought to myself. He had to have had a good reason to go out especially as far as we're looking for him in this area.
We have a team out looking for him, ever since Carmella let us know he was missing from the town. The storm was way closer than before. I didn't know how much longer we could stay out here looking for him, but I didn't just want to give up on him. I know he'd do it for me.
The team consists of me Carmella, Marcos & Miguel. We made sure to bring protective clothing the temperatures are brutal out here.
We weren't just looking for Damien though. Faith and Andrea were also missing too. There's no way they'd abandon the group, especially not with the the conditions outside of town.
It just didn't make sense.
Miguel looked concerned. Damien and Miguel have known each other since they were little kids. Elementary school days.
"We'll find him." I assured Miguel.
"Hell yeah." He smiled.
I believed what I said but we'd been at this for a while now and it was getting pretty dark out. I hope he makes if long enough for us to reach him.
Marcos patted him on the back.
"We should start heading back." He suggested to everyone.
Miguel looked at the ground tilting his head down. "Yeah." He murmured.
"A little bit further." I say.
Miguel looks at me.
"We can spare ten more minutes." I claim.
Everyone steadily agrees and we continue further into the woods.
ANDREA | POV
We continue our walk back home using our flashlights to ligh up the surrounding area as it was almost too dark.
Out of the corner of my eye I see something slouched up against a tree.
I edge closer and realize it's a body. Red blood stains the surrounding white snowy terrain.
There was something glimmering on the ground when my flashlight hit it.
I kneeled down to pick it up.
It was a broken silver necklace. It was familiar to me.
"Isn't this Damiens necklace?" I hold it out to Faith.
Her eyes examine it closely. "Yeah but how?"
Our thought is interrupted by distant voices in the woods. As I looked closer there were lights in the distance too.
I squinted trying to see who controlled the source of light. I couldn't see just yet.
"It's Terrance." Faith points out to me.
They run uphill towards us.
"We were looking for you, we thought maybe we wouldn't find you guys." Terrance expressed.
"Damiens not with you?" He asked.
I looked around. "I thought he'd be with yall."
"So he's still out there then." He said sounding defeated.
Miguel came in close for a tight hug.
Suddenly everything wasn't so cold.
Author Notes >>
Okay guys it's been a minute since I last updated this series I will say though this chapter was written in 2023 in April.
I won't speak on why I've been gone for so long I'll just continue to update the story from here once in a while.
No real schedule.
Bye Survivors.
WELCOME TO SEASON 2