CHAPTER TEN
THE GREENE FAMILY
season two, episode two
THE GENTLE CHIRPS of birds is what awakens her the following day, the animals almost singing her into reality and welcoming her to a new day. It's not exactly an odd sound to hear now but to hear them so clearly, it's almost beautiful.
Allowing her eyes to open, albeit rather slowly, Charlotte takes in her surroundings as best as she can. The room is small but definitely enough for one person to reside in, the brunette laid out in a double bed with a damp towel folded over her forehead. She still feels so lethargic, her body weak but the rest has most certainly done her some good. She pushes herself up into a seated position, eyes surveying the room for signs of anybody — she vaguely remembers seeing a blonde girl and an older man before passing out.
"You're awake,"
Charlotte has to stop herself from falling off the edge of the bed in shock, a startled gasp leaving her lips as said blonde girl enters the room. She wears a kind smile, though it also appears somewhat hesitant, Charlotte cannot blame her for that. There's an underlying fear bubbling up with her as well, she doesn't know these people and they don't know her.
"I brought you some water," Her accent is evident, more country like than those who Charlotte was with previously. Her tone is also soft though, sugary sweet as she moves closer to the British girl. "Here,"
The blonde girl holds the cup out and Charlotte takes it hesitantly, hand shaking rather obviously as she brings it to her mouth. Charlotte maintains eye contact with the girl as she drinks it, almost as if she's trying to figure out whether or not it's safe to actually keep drinking. She gives no sort of suspicion, practically encouraging her to keep going. The burning in her throat is slowly beginning to fade into nothingness, a small sigh of relief falling from her lips.
"Maggie is just getting you something to eat," The blonde speaks up again. "I'm Beth,"
Charlotte looks at her for a few moments. "Charlotte," she introduces herself in response, noticing the way Beth's eyes seem to flash in confusion at her accent. "I'm not exactly from around here,"
Beth simply nods, her gaze moving to the door as footsteps approach them. A woman joins them, her brown hair hanging just below her chin — Charlotte can see a bit of a family resemblance between the two of them, so the assumption from her is that they're probably sisters. The woman places a sandwich on the bedside table and Charlotte has to stop herself from lunging at it.
Maggie looks at her sister a little discreetly and receives a small nod in response before turning her attention to Charlotte properly. "I'm Maggie. You on your own?"
Charlotte shakes her head. "I wasn't, I went looking for one of the kids who ran off and got lost,"
It's better to be truthful, well that's what she's trying to convince herself anyway. She doesn't have the slightest clue as to where her group is, they could've moved on after finding Sophia for all she knows. It brings a small strike of pain to her heart as she thinks about them leaving her behind but Charlotte couldn't really blame them if they do. She has no familial ties to them, they aren't responsible for her.
"Well, you can stay here until you're back on your feet. Dad says you need some more rest," Beth interjects.
"Thank you," Charlotte offers a small smile in return and leans over to grab the food she'd been given. Jam is spread cross the bread, which appears to be homemade. "This is so good,"
It's almost embarrassing to admit but Charlotte finishes it so quickly that Beth and Maggie have yet to leave the room. Maggie smiles lightly, holding her hand out for the plate and taking it as Charlotte grins shyly. She deeply misses the sandwiches her mother used to make back home, nobody makes them like she did. Her dad tried but they were just never the same, something always a little off about them — mostly just the ratio of bread to ingredients in the middle.
"Would you like something else?" Maggie asks the younger girl kindly. "I think we have some biscuits in one of the cupboards somewhere,"
"I'm okay, thank you. Do you think I could get up and walk around a bit though? My legs feel dead," Charlotte comments, taking the blanket off her limbs and shaking them about a bit. "It'll be nice to just walk instead of full on running,"
"I could take you outside to see the horses," Beth speaks, her face lighting up significantly at the mention of the animals. "I need to brush them anyway,"
Charlotte nods her head and uses her hands to push herself up off the bed, her bare feet sinking into the carpet below. It's such an odd sensation to feel, soft carpet isn't exactly a luxury of a post apocalyptic world. She has to use the bed frame to steady herself for a moment before she begins to walk, the heaviness in her legs the furthest thing from pleasant.
"Your shoes are by the door and Beth grabbed some clean socks for you," Maggie gestures to Charlotte's somewhat tattered shoes. She wishes she'd bought some new ones before this happened. "I'm sure she'd be able to get some clothes for you too if you want to change,"
Charlotte wonders if they'd fit, she's a bit smaller than the blonde girl but she happily takes up the offer. The clothes she is wearing now aren't exactly the cleanest, smudged with walker blood and dirt. The rather extreme has also caused her to sweat rather profusely as well, so fresh clothes is a massive bonus.
"Why don't you go wash up? You can meet Beth out by the stables after," Maggie places her hand gently on Charlotte's shoulder, almost as a way to encourage her.
"I'll wait for you downstairs instead. Just let me grab some clothes," Beth interjects, leaving the older woman with Charlotte.
Maggie seems as if she wants to ask something, question the smaller girl about — well Charlotte isn't so sure. Charlotte gives her the smallest of smiles, a way of telling her that she can ask whatever it is she wants.
"I don't mean to pry, it's none of my business really, but could you explain the weapon we found on you? Dad was rather alarmed by it," Maggie says honestly, tilting her head as she questions the teenager.
"Oh I was over here for an archery competition. Won the whole thing too but it's not really something to brag about anymore," Charlotte shrugs. "I grabbed the bow when I ran, thought it might be useful,"
"Well congratulations, I think that's pretty cool,"
Charlotte almost beams at her, eyes light with a happiness that she hasn't had for a while. "Thanks Maggie,"
Not many people, other than the ones who had been there, had even seen her win the first part of the competition. She didn't have any time to tell her parents even, she wishes she'd called them instead of heading to that party. It would have been amazing to hear their voices, see their smiling faces even if it was unknowingly for the last time. They would've been so happy, she knows that they wanted to be here with her — she was one of the heavy favorites as well.
Beth comes back into the room moments later with some clothes in hand, a pair of longer pants and a singlet by the looks of it. "Here you go. Bathroom is the first door on the right,"
Charlotte thanks them both before wandering into the bathroom. She looks at herself in the mirror and frowns, she looks so exhausted and run down that it's like she's a different person. That usual brightness about her has dimmed significantly, an unfortunate side effect of living in a world where the dead walk freely. There's a slight red tinge to her skin as well, sunburn covering her but not as severely that she thought it would be. Her face is also narrower, thinned out from the lack of nutrients she's consuming, the food minimal.
To be frank, she's a sorry sight.
Stripping off her clothes and slipping into the shower, she almost cries at the feeling of warm water against her skin. The water that flows beneath is dark in colour, all the dirt and mud washing away under the pressure of the shower. There's a small bottle of shower gel in the corner which she uses to help wash away the rest of the muck. Then it's time to wash her hair, Charlotte happy to finally massage some shampoo into her scalp and reduce the oiliness significantly.
When she finishes up and gets dressed, she then looks into the mirror once again, she looks like an entirely different person — a little more lifelike. Tucking her hair behind her ears, Charlotte picks up her dirty clothes and leaves the bathroom.
An older lady greets her at the bottom of the stairs, taking the dirty clothes from her with a wave of her hand. Charlotte takes that as her signal to go and find Beth, the blonde girl standing by the front door with a welcoming smile upon her face.
"Come on, we don't want to keep the horses waiting," Beth says, stepping outside. Charlotte follows and is quickly met with a sudden rush of heat, the boiling temperature once again making itself known. "Where in England are you from?"
Charlotte appreciates the girl's ability to start up conversation and distract her from the fact she's feeling a little lost still. Her mind is still quite often on her group, whether or not Rick managed to find poor Sophia before she suffered from dehydration herself.
"I'm from London," Charlotte responds quietly, stepping over some of the foliage that is strewn across the ground. Beth simply nods at this, focused on getting the two of them over to the horses.
The sun is bright in the distance, the rays beaming against her pale skin. She's probably on her way to ending up with an extremely significant sunburn, the redness likely going to flare up after being out in the elements again. Beth guides her into the table and towards one horse in particular with a beautiful brown mane.
The mere sight of the animal brings a smile to the teenager's face, Charlotte hesitantly sticking her hand out and patting the horse's head. Thankfully, the horse seems as nervous as she is, taking a few moments before it decides that she's no threat.
"This is Nelly," Beth introduces as she comes up behind Charlotte, holding out a brush for the brunette to take. Charlotte takes it and slowly begins to brush the horse's hair, watching as she accepts the attention.
"She's beautiful," Charlotte comments with a smile, looking at Beth who returns the expression.
"We call her Nervous Nelly, she usually isn't a big fan of new people. Looks like she likes you though," Beth replies.
"Well I like her too,"
Charlotte gently pats the side of Nelly's face, her face almost hurting from the amount of smiling she's doing. For the first real time since this world went to shit, Charlotte is able to forget about the destruction happening around them and enjoy the little time she has to be normal — to enjoy the company of Nelly who represents the life they all had before the dead began to walk.
"Beth! Charlotte!"
The two girls are startled by Maggie's yells, her voice sounding rather urgent. The older girl practically stumbles into the stables and when she spots them, the both of them safe, relief washes over her face.
"There's somebody here," Maggie breathes, gesturing for them to follow her out. Charlotte shares a glance with Beth before falling into step with the sisters, rather curious by who has found their way here. There's a part of her who hopes it's Sophia but there's part of her that doesn't — she'd rather the girl be back with Carol and the group than wondering out here on her own.
"What are they doin' here?" Beth asks her older sister, visibly nervous at the idea of somebody else stumbling upon their farm.
"Otis shot the man's son, sent him here to get help," Maggie explains, the three of them now moving into the main farmhouse.
Charlotte opens her mouth to ask a further question before she looks ahead and stops in her tracks. The two men stand there, one in hysterics and the other trying to calm him down. It almost makes Charlotte want to burst into tears. Otis shot the man's son.
If these two men are here then that must mean —
"Charlotte?"