THEY'D MUST'VE BEEN ON THE ROAD FOR A FEW DAYS, A WEEK AT MOST. After the prison fell, they had no plan, nowhere to go, no food, no supplies, nothing.
They got lucky though, stumbling across a restaurant where they were able to collect a few supplies and eventually a neighborhood that provided a place to stay.
The tension was high for a while, Rick had been severely beaten and was knocked unconscious for a bit and everyone was separated which left Grace and Carl to fend for themselves for a bit, things only began looking up when they were reunited with Michonne.
Thankfully, she'd stumbled upon the neighborhood and found them, things began looking up, they still didn't exactly have a game plan, and were still low when it came to supplies and food, but they had each other and that was what mattered most, to Grace at least.
Their stay in said neighborhood was cut short though.
Grace, Carl, and Michonne had left to scavenge and supplies that were left behind in the other homes, leaving Rick to get some rest, he'd woken up and was doing better but still needed rest nonetheless.
Just as the trio was heading back to the house with supplies in hand, Rick came running out telling them to go, he never fully explained what went down, but it was clear that the neighborhood wasn't safe anymore, and within seconds they were back on the road.
They were back on the road with no game plan, minimal supplies, and minimal food. It was only then that they became aware of Terminus, it was their absolute best bet, it almost sounded too good to be true, Grace hoped and prayed the others were still out there, and saw the signs too, and believed in it all.
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IT'D BEEN A FEW DAYS, GRACE HAD KIND OF LOST TRACK. They were set on getting to Terminus, but it was way easier said than done. It didn't matter how hard it was, They were gonna get to Terminus no matter what it took, and Grace couldn't wait.
She believed in Terminus, she had to, they all had to. There wasn't any room for doubt, it was the last hope they had. She just had to keep hoping Terminus would work out, and that all the others would be there. Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, Beth, Mika, Lizzie, Carol, everyone.
They'd all be there, and they'd be safe. Grace was sure everything would be okay once they were all together again.
"Carl?" Grace whispered. They hadn't found a place to stay in a while, they kind of hopped from place to place, they'd been lucky enough to find a car, which was probably the most comfort they'd get until Terminus.
"Mhm?" Carl mumbled, his eyes shut as his head rested in the lap of Graces. "Do you think Terminus is gonna work out?" She looked down at the boy,
"Yeah," He mumbled, just barely awake. "Do you think everyone else is gonna be there?" She asked, "I think you need to sleep." The boy mumbled, Grace rolled her eyes at his words.
"I just don't know if--"
"Just sleep, Gracie." Carl interrupted her words, "We won't get anywhere if you don't rest."
"Fine." Grace sighed, finally letting her eyes shut. She only then realized just how exhausted she was, her brain could keep going on and on but her body was knocked out the moment she shut her eyes.
She was exhausted, but not exhausted enough to let her guard down. She swore her eyes hadn't even been shut for five minutes before they jolted open at the sound of voices that rang from outside the vehicle.
They didn't sound like the voices of Rick or Michonne, and her assumptions were proven correct as she noticed at least four men surrounding the two adults, one holding a gun up to Rick's temple, another one pointing a gun at Michonne with the other two surrounding them.
"Fuck." Grace gasped as she laid eyes on the two men who surrounded the car, one in each window. "Carl." She mumbled, lightly shaking the boy in order to wake him up, they were fucked.
Grace paced back in forth in her mind trying to think of what the hell to do, they were surrounded, god knows how many men they had.
They were outnumbered in every way, "Daryl?" Grace stuttered as she laid eyes on the familiar man who emerged from the shadows, walking to where Rick and Michonne sat.
She couldn't exactly make out what was being said, but as she watched as two men approached Daryl, eventually kicking him to the ground where they began to beat him, they could tell it wasn't good. "Get off him!" Grace cried out as she banged on the window, catching the attention of the man who stood there.
The two men exchanged glances before he swung the car door open, "No!" both kids cried out in unison as they were dragged out of the car. "You leave them be!" Rick shouted, Grace couldn't see him though as the man held her to the ground. "Rick! Michonne!"
Grace cried out, trying to get out of the man's grasp, "Get off me!" She shouted, she tried lifting her arms up but couldn't as the man held her down with all his force. "Get off me!" She sobbed, she fought back as much as much as she could, but it did no good. "Stop moving, bitch." The man spat as he looked down at the girl.
She couldn't see what was going on, her eyes were squinted shut as she heard Rick pled with the men to let them go, as she glanced over to her right, She spotted Daryl getting nearly beaten to death, and when she looked to her left she saw Carl on the ground.
She couldn't see much, only seeing him try to squirm away from the man from underneath the car, "Get off him!" Grace shouted, "Don't you worry about him," The man grabbed Grace's face and snapped it back in his direction, caressing her cheeks.
"Just look at me." A grin crept on his face as he whispered into her ear, Grace didn't see it, but she could hear the unbuckling of his belt.
It wasn't about fighting back anymore, it was about accepting what was going to happen.
"Get off me!" She screamed, she managed to her one of her arms out of his grasp, using the opportunity to punch him in the face.
"Oh, you're gonna pay, bitch!" The man held onto his nose, all bloody as she reached for his pocket, pulling a gun out and raising it to Grace's head, she froze.
"Get the fuck up." He spat, pulling Grace up by her arm.
"Rick! Michonne!" Grace sobbed as the man held the gun up to his head as he walked her past the car. "Grace—" Rick mumbled, he was on the ground, getting repeatedly kicked by one of the men. Michonne laid on the ground as well, a gun up to her head as she watched in horror.
"It's gonna be alright, Don't worry." He whispered into the young girl's ear, slowly leading her away from all the commotion.
"Grace!" Carl shouted to no avail, Grace had to compile, so she didn't fight back when the man led her down into the woods. "Don't do this!" Grace cried out, a gun still up to her head as they walked down into the woods, she could still hear the screams and cries from the others.
"I claimed you, your mine now."
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AS GRACE'S EYES JOLTED OPEN, SHE REALIZED HER SITUATION. The beige jeans she wore before were a few feet away from her, laid beside the sweater she wore. Her shirt was ripped, and a man laid beside her, he didn't look dead, he was still breathing.
He was alive.
Grace began to cry as she sat up, they were in the forest, she couldn't place how much time had passed, but it was daytime. She couldn't move, she couldn't do anything, she could only cry.
She was weak, all along. This entire time she was trying to prove herself, prove herself capable, and it was all for nothing.
She was just a weak kid.
As tears flowed down her cheek and she used the palm of her hand to muffle her cries, she noticed a gun that lay in the leaves beside the man, she also noticed a knife tucked into the man's pants, which were still unzipped.
It was her chance, her chance to end it, her chance to be okay again.
She muffled her breathing as her fingers inched near the man's pants, she managed to get the knife out without the man noticing, and as she positioned the knife in her hand, she stood up, standing above the man.
She didn't hesitate, not one bit.
She held the knife in one hand and grabbed the gun in the other, shooting the man in the shoulder first, She wasn't afraid, not even when his eyes jolted open. She stabbed him clean in the neck, she watched as his eyes turned red, blood gushing out of his wound. She couldn't stop.
Thirteen times.
Thirteen times she stabbed him, in the neck, in the stomach, the chest, she never damaged his brain though, she wanted him to suffer. She wanted him to turn, she wanted him to feel pain, he would die slowly and painfully.
When Grace had finished, she fell to the ground. She knew the gunshot would attract walkers, but she didn't care, she didn't care if a herd of walkers came after her and ripped all the flesh off her body. "Help--" The man groaned, slowly reaching his arm up as one hand held onto the gush in his throat.
Grace lost control, taking the gun and shooting his hand, "Fuck! Fuck!" The man gurgled, she could hardly make out what he was saying. She watched him for a moment, watched as his eyes turned dull and emotionless, his arm drooping out as piles upon piles of blood spilled out of him, she felt nothing.
She felt empty.
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☆ ENIDLOVE-BOT NOTE,
wow. this marks the end of act 1... funfact, i hate this chapter and this was not how it was supposed to play out at all but shit went down when i accidentally erased like 1000 words and was NOT about to rewrite it, so i cut out the time they spent at the house.. this chapter is super short aswell so im sorry but act 2 will surely have longer chapters!!!