Trevor McAllister
My parents and I were running through the woods. The snarling was getting louder. Gunshots went off and I glanced behind me. They were being eaten, again.
"...Trevor, RUN!" My mother's gargled voice echoed.
I shot up out of bed. I had that dream every day since they died.
I tried my best to steady my breathing.
"Are you alright?"
At the unfamiliar voice, I turned to see that Aaron was no longer keeping watch over me. He was instead replaced by a Latina wearing camo and a canvas hat, her dark hair drawn into a tight ponytail. She didn't seem very friendly.
"Yeah, nightmare," I breathed.
She nodded skeptically. "You hungry?"
"I could eat," I replied. I didn't feel hungry, but I almost never did.
She pulled out a walkie talkie. "Kid's awake, could someone bring him breakfast? Over."
"I'll send Carl. Over," Rick's voice cracked through.
"So kid, how old are you?"
"Sixteen. My name's Trevor, by the way."
"How'd you survive out there on your own?"
"I was with my parents, and I was a boy scout. To be honest I was barely holding together. You?"
"Army." She didn't seem much for conversation. I pulled out my book.
Carl soon arrived holding a tray of food. "Hey Rosita."
She nodded to greet him. "You good to keep an eye on him?"
Carl nodded and she left. He set the tray in front of me and sat down. "What are you reading Trevor?"
"It's called The Unwanteds. It's pretty good, I've read it about 12 times now. It's about an island where they send kids to their deaths for being creative." At his look of concern, I continued. "It sounds dark, it kinda is, but it's like Harry Potter but way less boring."
I picked up the tray and began eating. After a few bites I asked, "Scrambled eggs? Does that mean you have chickens?"
"We don't, one of the communities we're in alliance with does though. We trade them for eggs and stuff."
"There are other communities?"
"Yeah, we told you that yesterday," he chuckled.
"Sorry, I'm forgetful sometimes. ADHD does that."
"That's okay. Could I look at the book? It seems pretty interesting."
"Sure," I handed him the book and as he read, I finished the food. I left the last bite, as usual.
He finished the first chapter, as they're fairly short, and handed the book back.
"I'll have to borrow it some time, it seems cool."
I pushed it back to him. "Borrow it now then."
"Oh, thanks," he took the book and smiled.
I was about to say something dumb when the door flew open.
"Carl," Rick panted. "Negan's here."
"He's not supposed to be here for three more days, what about Trevor?"
"Well he lied. Come on. Just make sure the cell is locked," Rick replied frantically.
Rick left and Carl glanced between me and the door a few times. He set the book on the chair.
"I gotta go," he ran through the door.
My anxiety was through the roof. What the hell was that about?
I tried my best to soothe the foreboding feeling in my stomach, grabbed the book and read.
That was, until the gunshot rang out. I couldn't help but panic. I ripped the cell door open and exited the basement.
Outside, I spotted Enid and fell into stride with her.
"He left the cell unlocked, didn't he?" She asked
I nodded and she shook her head. "What the hell was that gunshot about?" I asked.
"No idea. We're about to find out."
We rounded a corner and approached a house with a small crowd gathered around it. Rick approached, following a man in a leather jacket. Enid and I made our way to the door, but a man was guarding it.
I peered through the window to see Carl holding a gun on someone and arguing with his dad and the man who he had followed. I tapped Enid's shoulder, she looked and shook her head.
She began walking away from the building.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" I asked.
"Nope. Even if we had a plan, all the windows are locked. This used to be the doctor's office before they both died. We just have to wait. Come with me."
I hated that idea, but she was right. There wasn't anything we could do. I fought my gut instinct to help and followed her.
Enid lead me away from the old nurse's ward, but we were soon stopped. The man that stopped us was a little taller than Enid, he was fairly chubby, and he looked like a grubby asshole. A creepy grin crossed his face.
"Hey girlies," he sneered.
"I'm not a girl, dickwad," I spat in the deepest voice I could muster.
He seemed slightly taken aback, but the twisted grin never left his face.
"I have 'ta pat you two down, Negan's orders."
I glanced skeptically at Enid and she nodded. "I'll go first. You try anything with her and I'll beat the shit outta you, I know MMA."
"Yeah, right half-pint."
I clenced my jaw and fought the urge to pressure point him. He patted me down and, once he was satisfied, he continued to Enid. He patted her down, then stuck a hand in her pocket.
"Ballons? You going to a party little girl?" He smirked.
"Give them back, asshole," I grumbled.
"She's gotta say please."
I had had it. I was about to turn and break his nose, but Enid spoke up.
"Please," she uttered.
"See? Wasn't that hard." He threw the balloons back at her and walked off.
Once he was out of earshot, Enid scolded me.
"Don't ever lie like that again. You could've gotten us killed."
"Lie? About what?"
"Knowing mixed martial arts."
"I do know it. I'm legally a brown belt, but my old sensei said I'm at the same level as a black belt level 2. Becoming a black belt is a legal process though, and we don't exactly have a legal system."
"Either way, those guys are dangerous. I keep the balloons to remind me of someone their leader beat to death."
Out of the corner of my eye, I could just make out Carl running toward us. "Thank the fucking gods," I muttered.
"I told you to stay put," he grumbled. "Dad's gonna kill me."
"I'm sorry, I heard the gun and panicked. I, I wanted to make sure you were alright." My voice waivered slightly.
"Sorry, I'll explain la-"
"-Why is he out of the cell? I thought I told your to lock the door Carl?" Rick's angry voice rang out.
"I let him out," Enid piped in. "We panicked when we heard the gunshot."
Rick looked me over. "He can stay out for now. Don't cause trouble, kid."
He walked away and left Carl, Enid, and I.
"I have to go do something," Enid remarked. Before we could question her, she was out of earshot.
"That was odd," I remarked.
"Not really, Enid just does that sometimes. She'll wonder off for days at a time. It's not the smartest, but try stopping her," he shrugged.
"So, what're we gonna do?" I asked, after a moment of silence.
"What do you want to do?" He replied.
I shrugged. "You got any board games? Like Settlers of Catan?"
He chuckled. "I've never heard of that one. We have Monopoly though."
"That works. Lead the way," I replied.
He led us to a house not far from the cell. We walked up onto the porch and opened the door, beckoning for me to go in first.
The house looked even bigger from the inside. I started to take off my shoes as he shut the door behind him.
"You don't have to take those off. Nobody else really does."
"How come your carpet is so clean then?" I questioned.
"We vacuum pretty often." He chuckled. "Come on, I'll show you my room."
He lead me up a flight of stairs and down the hall to a closed door. He opened it and lead me inside.
It was pretty empty. Just a bed, a couple dressers, a tv and a nightstand. On one of the dressers sat a stack of what looked like comics.
"Are those comics? You have a favorite?"
"Yeah. I like the Spiderman ones. He's cool."
"Yeah. Personally I like the X-men. Rogue is cool as hell."
He smiled and sat on his bed. "I'm glad we have something in common. It gets pretty lonely here sometimes."
"I bet. Back home I didn't have many friends either. Just Cass and James really."
"Who're they?"
"Cass was my sister's boyfriend. After she passed he came out as bi, and his parents kicked him out, so he came and lived with my parents and I. James is his boyfriend. They're both way older than me though, so most 'a the time I was alone."
He nodded. "Before we came here, we had a different community. There were lots of kids my age. And when we got here there were a handful of kids, but they weren't really equipt to the outside world, and the walls fell when a group attacked. So they didn't make it. I've kinda gotten used to it though. People come and go I guess. It's just part of life now."
I nodded. "It sucks. Big time. 'Specially when there's a good few kids your age but nobody wants anything to do with you."
"Why didn't they?" I had piqued his interest.
"Let's just say I made a reputation for myself. I don't like having to hide things about myself, and I don't want to associate with people who hate me for things I can't control. I didn't choose to be gay, I didn't choose to be trans." SHIT.
"Trans? What does that mean?"
I breathed out heavily. "I didn't mean to say that, but I guess I've gotta explain now." I ran my hand through my hair. "You ever heard of someone who is born as one gender, but they transition to the other 'cause they weren't comfortable with their body?"
He shook his head.
"Well, that's what it means to be trans, sort of. I was assigned female at birth, but I'm a guy."
"I guess I kinda get it? I mean, I wouldn't want to be a girl either." He chuckled slightly. "Is that the mental issue you talked about yesterday?"
"Kinda. I'm also autistic and dyslexic, and I've got ADHD. Kids used to make fun of me 'cause I can't read well."
"That's shitty. If it helps any, I'm not great at reading either. I mean, I learned at school, but I haven't had much chance to read since the apocalypse started. My family's always been on the run."
"How long were you at the community before Alexandria?"
"A couple years. There were a few other smaller ones before the prison, but they went to shit too. There were a handful of times where my group got split up while we were roaming. Luckily I was never alone though, that must've been rough."
"I wasn't alone for long, but it was. I mean, I know how to forage a little from my dad and boy scouts. Just not enough to survive off of. I didn't really get lonely though, I'm used to that. I'm glad y'all found me before winter though, I wouldn't have made it if you didn't."
"I'm glad too, you seem cool." He smiled. "Anyway, board games." He stood up and went over to his closet. He pulled out a few games. Monopoly, Sorry, Uno, Clue, and The Game of Life. "Which one do you want to play?"
"The Game of life is pretty fun, I guess we could play that." I replied.
He set the others on his bed, then sat on the floor. I sat too and we set up the game. We played for a little while before Rick came up and interrupted right before I almost won.
"Hey, dinner's done. You two gonna come down and eat?"
Carl glanced at me. "Yeah, we'll be down in a minute."
Rick nodded and left. We cleaned up the game and headed downstairs.
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It took me forever to finish this, I am so sorry haha