(Ashlyn's model above)
10K POV
She put her eye to the scope, getting the zombie in her sights. A deep breath in, pulled the trigger and the zombie went down.
"I did it!" She cheered.
"Good job, sweetie." I said, ruffling her long hair.
"I'm getting better, aren't I, Dad?" She asked.
Every time the word "Dad" came out of her mouth, I couldn't help but smile.
It's been 12 years. My daughter is growing up just fine. She's had some close calls, but my surviving lessons have saved her countless of times. Along with myself. I never let her out of my sight.
Her name is Ashlyn. Ashlyn Nicole. It was Maddi's favorite name for a girl.
"You're almost better than me." I replied.
"No way, you're so much better, Dad." Ashlyn told me.
She swung my sniper on her back and started walking over to her kill. I followed right behind her.
"Where'd the bullet hit?" I asked.
"Right under the eye." Ashlyn pointed.
"Good hit, sweetie." I said, giving her a high five.
I looked up at the sky, trying to decipher the time. The sun was starting to set.
"We should head back. It's going to be dark soon." I told my daughter.
"Okay." She said.
I took her hand and we walked back.
*
The fire crackled. Ashlyn was sharpening a stick, little flecks of the bark landed in the fire. I could tell she was bored.
"Any stories you want to hear?" I asked.
She didn't answer. She just out her stick and knife down and put her head in her hands and watched the fire.
"What's wrong, Ash?" I asked.
"Nothing. You don't want to hear it." She said, sounding exactly like Maddi. My heart hurt.
"Of course I do, honey. I want to know what's up." I said, scooting closer. I wrapped her in a hug.
"Promise you won't get mad?" She asked.
"I promise." I said, lifting her chin up to meet my eyes.
We had the same eyes. They were blue, but they had Maddi's mood detector. I could tell she was upset based on how shiny and bright blue they were.
"Okay, well... I want to hear a story about Mom."
My stomach dropped. I knew I should've expected this at some point, but she was still so young.
"You know I don't like talking about it." I told her.
"I knew you would get mad. I'm sorry." She whimpered.
"No, don't be." I said. "What do you want to hear?"
"What was she like? Was she pretty? Was she funny?" Ashlyn asked.
Thinking about Maddi made my heart break. I missed her every day. For 12 years, I've been alone. Just Ashlyn and I. 12 years and it still felt like I lost her yesterday.
"She was very pretty and very funny." I replied.
"What was she like, though?" Ashlyn asked.
"What do you mean?"
"What did she look like? Was she as BA as you?" Ashlyn wondered.
I chuckled. "You look just like your mother. The dark hair, the slender face lined with freckles. Her voice. Gosh, you sometimes scare me."
Ashlyn laughed. And of course, it matched Maddi's perfectly.
"What did she look like? Explain everything."
I closed my eyes and imagined Maddi. Her beautiful smile, her bright green eyes, indicating she was happy. Her freckles made her look tan, her brown hair blew behind her and she ran to me with open arms.
And then it changed. She was sad. She was crying. I went out to touch her, and she turned around.
Blood. Blood everywhere. I-I couldn't-
"Daddy?" Ashlyn said, snapping me out of my daze.
"Huh? What?" I asked.
"You dozed off." She said. "It's okay, if you're tired I can Keep first watch."
"Nope. I'm not letting you do that till you're 16." I said, standing up.
"Dadddd," Ashlyn whined. "I know how to use a gun. And-And I'm careful."
"No. Age 16." I said.
I turned my back when Ashlyn said something that made me stop in my tracks.
"You don't even know if I'll live to be 16."
I turned around and looked at her. She looked upset again.
"Why do say that?" I asked, sternly.
"I remember what you told me. When I was 8. That everyone ends up dead. It doesn't matter how old you are. What your race is. What your sex is. Everyone dies. That's what you told me, anyway."
Ashlyn got up, and went in her tent.
*
It started to rain during the night. I took shelter under my tent, still keeping watch. Ashlyn's tent was silent. I didn't hear her moving or anything.
I was tempted to go check on her. She was my daughter, I had to make sure she was okay.
I got up and walked over to her tent. My shirt was already soaked and her tent was only two feet away from mine.
"Ash?" I called. No response.
I opened the door and saw her curled up in a ball sound asleep.
"I love you, baby girl." I whispered, kissing her forehead.
She turned her head and her eyes shot open.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." I whispered.
"Oh, it's just you. I got scared." She sighed.
"Sorry, baby." I said.
I got up to leave, but she grabbed my hand.
"No," She said. "Stay here until I fall asleep. Please? The storm makes me scared, dad."
"Of course, Ashlyn." I replied, laying next to her.
She curled up next to me and soon fell asleep.
And I did too, on accident.
*
My nightmares came.
I was walking along a highway. It was hot and muggy out. I heard a scream close by.
I ran towards it, but it was like time was slowed down. My legs couldn't move fast enough.
"Tommy! Help me!" The voice screamed. They sounded in pain.
But it wasn't just a voice, it belonged to a girl. And I knew who's.
Maddi.
I had to get to her. I had to help her. If only my legs would move!
"Tommy! Please!" Maddi screamed.
I couldn't speak either. My lips felt glued shut. It felt like she was getting farther and farther away from me. I tried to scream, but nothing came out.
And then I heard it. The sound of a newborn baby crying. And then a gunshot.
I woke up with a jolt. I sat up and looked next to me. Ashlyn was fast asleep. The rain had stopped and the sun was starting to shine through the tent flaps.
I stepped out in the cool morning air. The ground was wet, along with the trees. Water dropped from their leaves and hit my arms.
It was beautiful.
The fire had been put out from the rain. I kicked it with my foot, black soot getting on my shoes.
I was going to wake Ashlyn up, but I decided to let her sleep. She was still young and needed as much sleep she could get. But, that didn't last long, as Ashlyn crawled out of the tent.
"Morning, sweetie." I said.
"Morning, Dad." She yawned. She walked over to her rock and sat down. She looked at her feet and sighed. I could already tell something was up.
I knelt in front of her and cleared my throat.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She shook her head. "It's too awkward to ask you."
"I'm your father," I said, making my heart race. I loved saying that out loud. "You can tell me anything. I promise, it won't be awkward."
She twirled her fingers together, something she started doing when she was 6. Maddi did the same thing when she got nervous or shy.
"I don't know, just forget it." Ashlyn said.
"Nice try, but you can't weasel your way out this time." I told her, tickling her sides.
She giggled and pushed my hands away.
"Okay, fine." She sighed.
She cleared her throat.
"I want to know what it's like to grow up. Like, what'll happen?"
I had the normal reaction. Stomach drops because you realize your little girl is growing up.
Sure, Maddi has told me some stuff about womanhood, but I didn't understand it. I knew Ashlyn would experience things that I wouldn't know. I wouldn't be able to help her. But I gave it my best shot and told her stuff that I kind of knew.
"Well, you're-you're going to experience changes. Like, mood swings, and body development."
"Like what?" Ashlyn asked.
"Well, your-your," I pointing to my chest. "Your breasts are gonna grow. And-And you're gonna have menstruation."
She looked at me confused. She had no idea what menstruation was.
"Menstruation is when your uterus uh....you bleed from your vagina."
Ashlyn's eyes got wide. "What?!" I'm gonna bleed from where?!"
"Don't freak out, Ash," I sighed. "It's completely natural."
"Natural my ass!" Ashlyn screeched. "I'm gonna be bleeding from my vagina!"
"Okay, first off, watch your mouth. Second off, it means you can have babies! It only happens once a month and there are things to help you. Sweetie, I promise. Your Mom went through this." I said.
The last part seemed to calm her down a bit. But I could tell she was still worried by the way she scrunched her eyebrows.
"I don't want that to happen." She whimpered.
"Hey, you're far away from that. Don't worry about it." I said.
"How am I supposed to not worry about it?!" Ashlyn screeched.
Within her screech, I heard a twig snap behind her. I pulled her off her rock and pushed her behind me. I put a hand on my pistol and looked around.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Ashlyn asked.
"Be quiet and stay behind me." I told her. She listened.
I pulled my pistol out and heard another twig snap. I turned around and saw a girl.
A beautiful one at that.
She had dirty blonde hair that was pulled back into a messy pony tail. She had diamond blue eyes and freckles on her nose. She had tanned skin, her arms recently sunburned. Her lips were plump and pink. She had on a white tank top that had dirt and blood on it, along with sweat stains. She had blue jeans that had been sloppily cut into capris, one pant leg was shorter than the other. Her right leg was bandaged around the ankle, old blood stained on it. Her left arm had been cut, as a white scar showed on her bicep.
Her hand was placed over a wound by her hip. Blood covered her hand and soaked into her shirt. She looked pale, like at any moment she would drop.
"Don't...move..." She whispered before she face planted.
"Shit!" I said, rushing over to the woman. Blood was gushing out of her wound.
"Is she okay?!" Ashlyn cried, coming over to me.
"Stay back," I told her, holding out my hand. "She might turn."
I placed my fingers on her neck and checked her pulse. She had one, but it was really weak. Her breathing was short, her chest barely rising.
"Help me get her into my tent." I said, taking one of her arms.
Ashlyn lifted up the other arm and helped me drag her to my tent.
"Go boil some water. Quick." I said. Ashlyn nodded and left the tent.
I lifted up the strand woman's shirt to see a stab wound on her hip. It was deep and blood was everywhere. She stirred in her sleep from the touching.
I grabbed a rag and applied pressure to the wound. The woman whimpered but still didn't wake up.
"Dad?" Ashlyn said from outside the tent. "There's zombies by the stream. Here, use my bottled water."
Ashlyn stuck her head in and handed me her water, which was almost empty.
"I'm not using the last of your water." I refused.
"Really. She needs it more than I do." Ashlyn pushed.
I decided to let it go. We could always get more.
I poured some water on the woman's wound. She groaned in her sleep, her fists clutching the blankets under her.
"Where's the first aid?" I asked.
"In my tent. We used the last of the bandages." Ashlyn replied.
"Go get the sutures." I said. Ashlyn nodded and left.
I lifted the rag from the wound. The blood was still coming.
Ashlyn came back and handed me the kit. I opened it and started stitching the wound closed, using most of the thread. My hands shook as I did so, but I held my breath to stop them.
"Dad?" Ashlyn whispered. "Is she going to be okay?"
I sighed and put the suture kit back. My hands were dried with blood and shaky. I had to push them into the ground to stop them.
"I think so." I replied. "I don't think it hit any vital organs. The bleeding's stopped. Now she just has to wake up and we need to make sure it doesn't get infected or pops open."
Ashlyn sat next to the woman and felt her forehead. "She doesn't have a fever."
"Good. This must've just happened. The skin is pink and the blood is fresh." I said.
I rolled her shirt back down and felt the woman twitch. She still didn't wake up.
"Do you think she was running from something?" Ashlyn asked.
"I don't know, honey. Keep your eyes peeled though." I said.
I wiped most of the blood off of my hands on a rag and sighed. I peeked through the tent and saw a couple zombies stumbling around.
"Stay quiet. They'll pass." I said.
Ashlyn picked at her shoes as we sat in the quiet. The zombies hung around for a while before they got bored and moved on. The woman didn't wake up, still.
"Is she dead?" Ashlyn said.
"No. Her body just prepared her for the worst. She'll wake up." I said. I felt her forehead. No fever, just sweaty.
"What are we going to do with her?" Ashlyn asked.
"What do you mean?"
"When she wakes up. Is she going to stay here or are we going to send her off?" Ashlyn asked.
"We'll cross that bridge when it comes. Right now, just keep an eye on her. She can't do much without hurting herself more." I answered. I bit my thumb and glanced at the woman. She was...
Beautiful.
I never looked at a woman the way I did with Maddi. I always believed Maddi was the most beautiful, perfect woman. But this woman...
My eyes ran down to her wound. The rag tied around it was slowly getting soaked in blood. I knew that if we didn't get the right medical supplies, it'd get infected and that woman would die.
"Ashlyn," I said. "I need you to stay here and watch her." I stood up and started gathering supplies.
"Why? Where are you going?" She asked.
"I'm going to go look for medical supplies. I should be back before dark. You have weapons and you know how to protect yourself. Just keep an eye on her, okay?" I said, kneeling down to look at Ashlyn from her level. Her eyes were dark blue, meaning she was feeling confident.
"Okay." She said.
I pulled her into a hug. "I love you."
"Love you." She replied.
I gathered some supplies in a backpack and headed out in the direction of the nearest down, praying my daughter wasn't in trouble.