❪ 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗟'𝗦 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘 ❫
𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝖾𝗇 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━
we can make it out. ╱ season five, episode one.
SITTING IN THE darkness of the train car felt like a waiting game to the redhead. Every creak of the metal car made her anxiously twitch, just waiting for the moment Gareth's men came surging in, taking them away individually. It seemed to her that she was the only one sitting by, waiting for that moment to come. The others bustled around her, creating make-shift weapons, and talking about the plan quietly amongst the different groups. Frankie felt lost in the moment, she felt useless. What could she do to help them?
Her belt was taken long ago, to make something that can be used to fight back. She could hear others catching up, filling each other in on what had happened in the past week, and where the rest of their group was. Frankie and her small group felt out of place, they were there, ready to fight. But they weren't a part of this tight-knit group. She didn't want to overstep, she already knew the odd glances she'd received from Rick, Daryl, and Michonne weren't exactly accepting. There was a guilt still looming over her because of what happened last night. She was scared that even taking one more step could make their situation so much worse.
Time didn't exist in this train car, it was like they had lost their concept of time. Minutes and hours meshed together. Leaving uncertainty to wash through the group of people. Voices wandered up and down the roads outside, making it difficult to pinpoint the sound. But Daryl stood guard, keeping his eyes on the crack in the train door.
"Alright, got four of them pricks coming our way."
Frankie perked up at the words as adrenaline flooded her veins, she stood from her spot next to Carl. Without any words, the girl was handed a small yet thick piece of wood, tip sharpened to a point. She sent the younger boy next to her a small grateful smile.
"Y'all know what to do. Go for their eyes first, then their throats."
Rick's words followed the man as he made his way to the train car entrance, waiting to spring once the door opened. People surrounded him, their weapons rising with each second, waiting for their moment to come. Frankie held her stake tightly, her grip so secure that she thought it drew blood.
"Put your backs to the walls on either end of the car, now."
Even with the directions, none of them bothered to move, determined to take these men out. But something changed the moment loud steps echoed from the top of the train car. All of them looked around at each other in surprise the moment they heard a deafening clink as something dropped to the floor of the train car.
There was a panicked silence as people tried to decipher what was dropped in, but it wasn't long before Abraham tensed, dodging as far away from it as he could. "Move!"
As the can exploded, smoke poured into the confined space, the air became thick. Frankie let out a cough, trying to breathe in some type of clean air, but all she got was smoke. A large patch of light bled into the smoke haze, but it was still difficult to see. Demanding voices broke through the yells of their group, they faded in and out as Frankie struggled to breathe. She desperately tried to find someone in the haze, reaching out to feel for Sydney, Gabi, Carl, someone. But all she felt was air as she moved around. Frankie found herself, leaning against the metal of the train car wall, trying to catch her breath.
She could feel the heaviness of the smoke breaking up, not only was it easier to breathe, but also to see. She could see some of the others, mostly just their shadows as they were in a similar position as her. Most of them were leaning against the walls, either standing or sitting. All of a sudden, the light that Frankie was beginning to get familiar with was snuffed out with the dragging click of the lock on the main door.
Darkness engulfed them once again. Frankie squinted as she tried to adjust to the sudden lack of light. She could hear shuffling from the other side of the train car, "Who'd they take?"
Frankie wasn't familiar with the voice, not knowing the others that were with the rest of Rick's group. But she quickly recognized Michonne's calm tone, "I can't see Rick or Daryl."
"Glenn and Bob are missing too," Frankie quickly noted the words from the short-haired woman as she stood up from her seat on the ground.
"Where's Charlie?" Frankie's voice broke through the silence, all eyes jumping to her. Noting that this was the first time she was ever speaking directly to everyone and not just her hushed whispers to Carl or Gabi. A brunette woman looked at her, eyes fixated on the jacket that covered her frame.
The brunette snapped out of it, soon nodding her head at the words, trying to shake the panic from her bones, "Okay so they have five of ours."
"How are we going to get them back?" Sydney questioned, looking to the others around her for answers, but everyone was just as speechless as her.
"We'll figure it out, first we need to get out of this car," Michonne explained, her tone trying to appear devoid of panic, but some of them could still hear the slight panic in her voice.
Everyone quickly followed her words, moving from their spot, and getting to work. They were going to do whatever they could in order to escape. No matter what happened, they were going to get out of this. Even if no one was coming for them, there was a part of Frankie that knew Rick was gonna make his way back to them and get them out.
But there was a bigger part of her that thought they might not get out. There was a highly likely scenario that left them to be picked off one by one. They already took five of them, it was only a matter of time before they came to get more. She didn't want even to imagine what was happening to them right now. With the snippets she'd seen of these people, she knew they were up to something that would be something that haunted her.
"Hello," Frankie's eyes jumped up at the greeting, a look of surprise falling over her face. She was met with a short-haired brunette with a kind smile. Frankie returned her gesture, giving her a tight-lipped grin. The woman didn't hesitate to make herself comfortable as she took a seat next to Frankie. "I don't think we got introduced, I'm Maggie,"
Frankie's heart pounded in her chest, connecting the name to the person Carl told her about. The girl froze, opening and closing her mouth as she struggled to get a word out. "Hi."
"Frankie right?" Maggie asked. The girl nodded wordlessly as she looked down at her hands on her lap. Again, the brunette's eyes fell to the jacket on the girl's frame. "I noticed you're wearing my brother's jacket."
The redhead snapped her gaze to the bulky jacket on her shoulders, slightly panicked that she brought it up. A part of her worried that Maggie would make her give it back."Oh yeah, mine got ruined last night, so he gave it to me I guess."
"Ruined? How come?" Maggie asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Frankie sighed, shrugging her shoulders, feeling deflated by the memories of last night. "I'd rather not talk about it if that's alright?"
Maggie nodded a warm reassuring smile on her lips, "Of course, I understand. I'm just glad Charlie was able to help you out."
"Yeah, it was really nice of him, honestly," Frankie murmured, picking at the loose fur that lined the bottom of her sleeve. "Never thought he would be so nice to me."
"Why wouldn't he be nice?" The brunette inquired, a look of concern on her features. "Has he been mean to you?"
Frankie snorted, finding Maggie's concern for a stranger funny, "Yeah, he really hasn't been the kindest, but I get it. I was a stranger, someone he never had seen before. I would do the same."
"Well, I hope he's not treating you like that any longer."
"Eh, he's not so much. Kinda sassy mostly." The girl answered, shrugging with a smile curling on her lips. "But I can handle it, I just dish it right back."
Maggie chuckled, "Good, he needs someone to give it right back."
"I'll make sure I'll keep up the good work then," Frankie beamed, finding Maggie's kind demeanor contagious.
"I'll keep you to that Frankie," Maggie concluded, rising slowly from the floor in the process.
Just as Maggie began to stand up from her seat on the floor, the ground shook violently. A loud explosion-like noise echoed through the air like a bullet. At the feeling of the shaking ground, Maggie tumbled back down to the ground with a loud slam. Frankie gasped at not only the explosion outside the train car but also the painful noise Maggie made once she made an impact with the floor.
Frankie quickly went to her rescue, helping her up from the ground. "Are you alright?"
The woman nodded, and let out a breath as she tried to pull herself together, "Yeah, thank you."
"Of course," Frankie said earnestly.
Screaming erupted through the air just as gunshots began ringing out. Frankie's heart dropped violently, not understanding what was happening outside those doors. Thudding footsteps quickly passed the train car towards the sound of the explosion.
The large redheaded man that was with Maggie, slammed his fists against the train car door in frustration. His words came out in gritted teeth, "What the hell is going on?"
"Someone hit them," Michonne answered.
"Maybe our people got free." A woman standing on the other side of the train car answered.
Before anyone had a chance to answer a man with a mullet pushed past them, soon kneeling on the ground just next to the door.
A girl in a hat looked at him with judgment swirling in her eyes. "What the hell are you doing?"
The man with the mullet looked up at her but quickly back to fiddling with the door. "I might be able to use this shell to compromise the door. From the sound of things, there may not be anybody left to open it."
"Eugene, I'm sorry but shut up." A girl on the other side of the train snapped, her voice panicked by the sounds coming from just outside their reach.
The man didn't have time to answer before Carl piped up as he walked up to the group of people. "Hey, my dad's gonna be back. They all are."
Maggie followed him, nodding her head in agreement. "They are and we need to get ready to fight our way out with them when they do."
No other words were said as people broke apart, going back to their prior places, and working on makeshift weapons. Frankie paused in place, hearing a familiar growl come from the other side of the door. She barely even registered it, but Gabi and Sydney had somehow quickly made their way to her side.
"Listen, if things go south, I need you two right by my side. We need to stay together."
Frankie looked up at the older woman, confusion furrowing in her eyebrows. "Things have already gone south Syd,"
Her voice was hushed as she sent the girl a look of seriousness. "I mean when we get out, if these people start dying we need to protect ourselves. We need to get out and start over."
"We are starting over, it's not just us anymore," Frankie mentioned her voice just as firm as the woman's in front of her. "They seem alright, not everyone is out to get us. You need to learn how to trust."
"They really haven't given us a reason too."
Frankie stopped a grimace from forming on her face at the words, "They haven't given us a reason to not trust them. They saved my life, and I'm not going to just forget that."
Sydney stared at her for a second, "What, if me and Gabi leave, are you just going to stay with them?"
The girl that was mentioned sent Sydney a look of confusion. "Who said anything about leaving?"
"Oh come on, you seriously think they'll still want us around?" Sydney sent a look of criticism toward both of them. "We were there to help them find their family, we did. Do you seriously think they need us anymore?"
Frankie opened and closed her mouth at the harsh words. "They aren't using us, they won't kick us to the curb."
"Yeah, they don't seem like they'll do that." Gabi agreed, nodding along with what Frankie had to say. Frankie felt gratification seeping into her bones as Gabi stood up for her. It made her feel validated for the first time in a long time. She was so used to fighting for her opinion alone, so it was relieving knowing that someone agree with her.
"Carl won't let that happen," Frankie continued, her tone filled with nothing but seriousness.
Sydney scoffed, sending Frankie a look of skepticism."You think a twelve-year-old has anything to say in the matter?"
"Yeah I do, his father seems to take what he says into consideration."
"I'm just saying, don't be surprised when they kick us out and we're on our own again."
Those words lingered in Frankie's heart as Sydney stalked off, annoyance burning through her exterior. Frankie let out a sigh as she looked at Gabi who was already staring at her. The girl had sympathy in her eyes, hating when Sydney was so harsh to Frankie. But they both knew it was Sydney preparing them for the worst, even if it never happened. But it still hurt Frankie that Sydney always went against what she thought. It always made Frankie feel inferior.
For most of her time in the apocalypse, people made her feel that way. Just because she tried to have a smile on her face and didn't let things always get to her, people automatically thought she didn't know what she was doing. But she did, she was capable of much more than people gave her credit for.
Finding her spot once again, Frankie found a seat on the floor, fiddling with the weapon that Carl had given her nearly forty minutes ago. The stake came to a sharp point, she held it tightly in her hand, getting a feel for it and how to maneuver it in her hands.
Everyone was hard at work, except for a woman who was keeping a scrutinizing glance at Eugune, who was too focused on the door to even notice. "What's the cure, Eugene?"
The cure was brought up briefly before and Frankie didn't know how to feel about it. Everything surrounding it felt very far-fetched. Then again, she barely met the people who were with Maggie, she didn't know if they were lying or telling the truth about the whole thing. But when she heard them talk about it for the first time, she didn't believe it. Even if it was true, and there was a way out of this, could they ever fully go back to how it was before? After everything they've done, did they deserve to go back?
"It's classified." The man mumbled, shutting down any conversation around it.
Michonne sent him a questioning look, feeling skeptical about how he quickly shut the other woman down. "We don't know what's going to happen."
The large redheaded man didn't like that they were hounding the man, he straightened up from his position to send the two women a glare. "You leave him be."
"We need to keep working." Maggie chimed in, her voice clear and demanding, knowing what was just outside their reach.
"Yeah, but it's time to hear it," The woman who started it all nodded with Maggie, but she couldn't help but blurt out her thoughts. "'Cause we don't know what's coming next."
The short-haired woman next to Maggie interrupted her, "What's next is we get out of this."
Eugene paused his movements, eyes moving away from the door and to the people surrounding him. "Even if I told you all, even if I provided step-by-step instructions complete with illustrations and a well-composed FAQ, and I went red-ring...the cure would still die with me."
"What a nice way to call us stupid," Frankie stated, mostly to herself, but eyes wandered over to her at the words.
The redhead man snapped his eyes up to the man, ignoring her comment. "I'm not gonna let that happen."
"The best-case scenario, we step out into a hellstorm of bullets, fire, and walkers. I'm not fleet of foot, I sure as hell can't take a dead one down with sharp buttons and confidence." Eugene blurted, his lack of self-confidence making Frankie grimace.
"Yeah, but we can and we will." Michonne blurted, her tone full of assurance. But the woman who started this wasn't done.
"You don't owe us anything...not yet." The woman waited for a response but didn't get one. So she continued in response. "But we just want to hear it."
A girl with pigtails and a hat looked down at the man, her tone reassuring, "You don't have to."
The man let out a sigh, pulling himself up from the ground so he could look at everyone around him. "I was part of a 10-person team at the Human Genome Project to weaponized diseases to fight weaponized diseases. Pathogenic microorganisms with pathogenic microorganisms. Fire with fire. Interdepartmental drinks were had, relationships were made, information shared. I am keenly aware of all the details behind fail-safe delivery systems to kill every living person on this planet. I believe with a little tweaking on the terminals in DC, we can flip the script. Take out every last dead one of them. Fire with fire."
His words took a moment to fully settle in the surrounding air as people wavered for a second. There was a lot of information yet none at the same time. Frankie believed him a little more than she did before, but anyone could make that up. He'd have to be one hell of a liar to make all that up though. He waited for someone to react, but no one did as he let a smile wash over his face. "All things being equal, it does sound pretty badass."
"So let's get back to work."
Just as everyone began agreeing with Maggie, the door clicked open and shouting began thudding from the other side of the door. Frankie jumped up from her position as her heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline filling her veins. Carl ran to the door as the sunlight washed through the darkness. Rick was the first one to be seen as he yelled at them to get out.
"Come on! Fight to the fence!"
No one hesitated, people began rushing out of the train car and into the chaos below. Walkers were spread out on the concrete, eyes hungry as they watched them run out. The girl's eyes stung from the sudden burst of warm sun and light that hit her like a ton of brick. As her eyes adjusted, Frankie gasped watching the rest of the group already outside fight the walkers coming at them. She heard a snarl directly in her ear and she didn't hesitate to plunge the stake Carl made for her into the walker's skull. It immediately fell limp as she followed the other's leads as they made their way to the fence that stood a few hundred feet away from the train car.
They all subconsciously traveled in a pack, eyes filled with determination as they fought the walkers in their path. Frankie instantly noticed Gabi and Sydney falling by her side, knowing that she wouldn't do what Sydney told her because of how caught up in the moment she was.
As they rounded the fence, people were directed to climb over the fence with the redheaded man aiding them in the movements. Frankie waited patiently for her turn, eyes wandering around panicked, just waiting for someone or something to come and kill her. She was so caught up in the moment, that she barely registered that Gabi and Sydney already made it up and over, now it was her turn.
"Let's go Red, we don't have all day." The familiar nickname caught her attention, she snapped her head to the fence, noticing Charlie standing there waiting to help her.
She quickly nodded, grabbing one of his hands as she balanced her foot in the other, feeling her getting lifted off the ground. Both men aided her and she was quickly and successfully able to climb the fence and land on the other side safely. As she found her footing, she moved out of the way so others could make their descent. She waited nervously with the others, making sure everyone was able to get out.
As Charlie landed next to Frankie, Rick and the redheaded man instantly jumped over as well, they all didn't hesitate to make a run for it. Hurried movements as they ran into the wood and were out of sight of Terminus. Frankie let out a sigh of relief, seeing the buildings disappear with each passing second.
Daryl led the group into the woods, heading in an unknown direction to most of the group, but Frankie knew where they were going. They were heading to find their hidden supplies and more importantly her stuff.
They were walking for what seemed like eight minutes before Daryl pointed toward a couple of trees and the ground beneath them. "Right here."
It wasn't long before Rick found the shovel he hid and began digging to find the hidden bag. The others looked around in confusion, waiting for someone to come out of the shadows guns blazing. The large redhead snarled, "The hell are we still around here for?"
Rick didn't bother to look up from the ground, "Guns, some supplies. Go along the fences, use the rifles. Take out the rest of them."
A man in front of him sent Rick a confused glance, "What?"
Rick stopped, eyes cold as he looked at him, "They don't get to live."
The words made everyone pause, not liking the idea of going back. Frankie sent Sydeny and Gabi a once over, trying the gauge their reactions to the words. It seemed that everyone except for Rick had the same response. The man in the black long sleeve spoke up again. "Rick, we got out. It's over."
Rick barely reacted to the statement, grabbing his gun from the bag, and checking the ammo. "It's not over till they're all dead."
That clearly pissed off the woman with the pigtails as she gritted her teeth. "The hell it isn't, that place is on fire. Full of walkers."
The redheaded man next to her huffed, "I'm not dicking around with this crap. We just made it out."
Maggie agreed with the man as she sighed as she looked at Rick. "The fences are down, they'll run or die."
Silence followed her words, Rick seemed to be tossing the idea around in his head, but it quickly disappeared once his eyes snapped to behind him at the sound of a branch breaking. There was a woman staring at all of them with a slight amazement and happiness in her eyes. Frankie didn't recognize her, but Daryl sure did as he didn't hesitate to dart in her direction, pulling her into a powerful hug. His grip was so strong that he lifted her up off the ground.
Everyone around her who was familiar with the woman had smiles brightly on their face as they watched their small reunion. Rick cautiously approached, surprise shining on his features. "Did you do that?"
The older woman held back tears as she nodded, Rick didn't stop himself from pulling her into a hug as well. The embrace lasted for what seemed like forever before she pulled him away from her. She had a look of urgency on her face. "You have to come with me."
Frankie felt a wave of nervousness at the words, even after her trusted bag was on her back once again. The feeling never went away until they were marching their way toward a small shack that stood at the end of a long dirt road. Further confusion laced her features as she watched a large man exit the building. But as soon as she saw him it all clicked, as a bubbly baby sat tightly in his arms. Seconds flashed and before she registered it, Rick and Carl were dashing toward the man, eyes widened in relief and surprise.
Frankie smiled brightly as she connected the baby to being Carl's baby sister. Her heart warmed at the reunion, watching happy tears trail down their faces as they held her tightly. There was a moment when Rick wandered over to the man who originally was holding the baby. There was a silent beat as Rick acknowledged him and they had an understanding silent moment of gratitude.
Others began making their way to the scene, flocking and taking a moment to sit down and figure out their next moves. Frankie couldn't help but gravitate towards the baby, whose eyes darted all around to the people gawking at her.
Frankie couldn't believe that she'd ever see a baby again, here one was, smiling and gurgling as her father held her. Carl noticed Frankie lurking, his eyes jumped up, head nodding in his direction so she'd come over. She hesitantly made her way to them, watching as Rick gazed at her like a hawk.
The redhead gave the baby a little wave, and the little girl smiled brightly as she let out a small giggle. Frankie snapped her eyes up to Rick, "Judith right?"
He let out a tight smile, feeling slightly hesitant to have an almost stranger around his daughter. "Yeah,"
Frankie couldn't stop herself from wiggling a finger at the little girl, and the small child quickly wrapped her fingers at around it. A small chuckle left the redhead as her eyes remained on Judith. "She's beautiful."
Carl smiled at the scene, enjoying the slight bonding moment between his baby sister and his new friend. There was a slight surprise as Rick looked down at Frankie with a small fond smile. "Thank you."
Rick quickly handed off Judith to Carl as he walked forward, eyes on the smoke from Termius filling the sky. "I don't know if the fire is still burning."
Frankie's eyes moved from the child who she was playing with and toward the gray, borderline black smoke. The woman she now knew as Carol nodded her head, "It is."
Rick looked back at the sound of her voice, thinking over his options. "Yeah...we need to go."
Daryl straightened up from his position of leaning against the abandoned car. "Yeah, but where?"
"Somewhere far away from there," Rick concluded, quickly scooping up his bag from the ground and looking back to make sure everyone was accounted for.
People began filing after Rick as they made their trek into the woods once again. Frankie could feel eyes on her, turning she was met with Sydney standing next to Gabi, eyes fixated on her. As they made their way toward her Frankie, the girl didn't hesitate to dash after Carl. She knew Sydney was going to talk to her about their next move, but she didn't want to. Frankie wanted to keep this going as long as she could, they needed to be where they are right now. She knew Sydney would try and talk her out of it, Frankie wanted none of that. Even through everything, Frankie knew that with these people, this was exactly where they needed to be.
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𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘:
HEY BESTIES GUESS WHO'S ALIVE!!
WE'RE ON SEASON FIVE BABY WOOP WOOP
so a lot happened in this chapter, we got so many new interactions from Maggie to baby Judith!! so excited about that btw, that was a beautiful introduction to the relationship between Frankie and Judith.
We are also going to be seeing SERIOUS bonding with Frankie and Charlie in the upcoming chapter!!! Just wait, y'all are literally gonna die when you see what I have planned.
ALSO‼️‼️‼️‼️
Check out my TikTok I've got some fab Charlie and Frankie edits up and I love them sm
TikTok: @gardensongsswp
hope you guys enjoyed!!!