The Leader

Chapter 16

Wyoming.
The trip was quick, considering Abby only had Y/n to look after and not a crew of tense people. Her foot had healed and Abby remembered how she cried happy tears when she slipped on a sock instead of her foot being wrapped in bandages. It took some getting used to - not limping everywhere, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She often complained the cold weather made her foot hurt, which was understandable, but Abby always knew how to warm her up.
It seemed after Y/n had recovered, things started to look up. However, Abby grew more and more worried by the day. Sometimes she wouldn't sleep, just lay awake all night and watch Y/n dream. So when they got into the meat of Wyoming, she was on edge almost everyday.
She looked like she was zapped by lightning with the way her eyes were always wide and her shoulders were always so tense.
"Keep your eyes open."
"Abby, you've said that three times."

The snow was ruthless. Some days it would come down so fast and hard they'd have to find somewhere to park and just wait it out. Those were the times they'd find themselves in the back seat doing more private activities, considering it was cold and there was no where else to go.

"Do you want me to drive? You've driven this whole trip." Y/n rubbed Abby's clothed shoulder, pressing her brows together with concern.
"You don't know the way there."
"You can tell me."
Abby stopped the truck, her hands pale and her knuckles red from the cold air, her nose a soft shade of red as well.
"Okay."
And Y/n gladly took on the road, not getting upset when Abby messed up the directions or even when Abby got mad at her for getting them stuck in some snow that was nearly impossible to drive in. She knew Abby was anxious, and the last thing she wanted was for Abby to have a panick attack and pass out. 
"We can stay at that house."
"How do you know?"
"I don't think you want to know."
Their pasts were still rather blurry, and Y/n didn't want to force Abby to admit to anything she wasn't comfortable with.
The house was huge - a mansion even. The gate was sturdy and there was plenty of room for the truck in the garage. Y/n got out, shivering from the cold despite being layered up. She grabbed her bag, double checking her revolver was still loaded, and walked around to Abby's side.
"Comin?" Y/n wondered.
Abby was still, frozen in time. She stared at the garage door through the windshield as her hands trembled in her lap. All she could see every time she closed her eyes was his bloody, bashed in head. A part of her wished she was back in time and got enough time to finish him off the way she wanted without Owen's intervention. A more rational part of her knew she had moved on and what was done was done; it still hurt.
"Baby?" Y/n spoke up, pulling the images from Abby's mind.
"Yeah, give me a minute." She made fists in her lap in an attempt to stop her shaking,
"Okay, I'm going to check to make sure it's safe."
Abby knew she wouldn't go into the basement where she tortured Joel, only where they needed to be, or would she? Abby quickly jumped out of the truck and rushed to find Y/n.
She cautiously searched the home, still scavenging as she would any other home, however it was bare. Down another flight of stairs she opened the door to another level of the home. The first thing she saw when she opened the door was the pool of dried blood on the floor, some splattered on the window of the sliding doors. Not too far from it was a golf club, also covered in blood.
Heavy, rushed steps were heard behind her. She quickly turned and aimed her gun, finger ready on the trigger.
Abby came running down the steps, quickly pulling Y/n from the room and shutting the door.
"Don't go in there."
Y/n chuckled, "Why not? Did you get bored on the road? I did too. I'd love to kill some infected."
Abby swallowed hard, "Uhm...yeah sure."
Y/n noticed how pale her face got, a small sweat had broken out on her forehead, "What's wrong?" She grabbed Abby's hand.
Abby was too ashamed to tell her, knowing some parts of her life needed to be shut away and forgotten about forever, but this wasn't something she could hide. Y/n had - for a lack of better words - caught her red handed.
"I killed a man here." Abby was surprised she didn't vomit.
"You've killed a lot of men." Y/n found this more amusing than concerning.
Abby's head hung low, letting out a long sigh before mustering up the courage to look her in the eye, "I beat a man to death that room."
Y/n connected the pieces, rather surprised but not taken aback.
"That's why you were tortured."
Abby elaborated, biting her lip, putting up an emotional force field for anything coming her way.
Y/n chewed on her own lip for a moment, trying to piece together a sentence that the acknowledged the situation the right way while comforting Abby.
"Did you...uhm...want to search that room then?" Y/n wanted to slap herself in the face.
Abby glanced at the door handle for a moment, "No. I don't want either one of us to go in there."
Y/n nodded, reassuring Abby she didn't hear or see anything anyways.

That night, Abby stared a fire in a proper fire place and cooked them the fish they found in a near by stream, feeling warm for the first time in months.
"I'm proud of you." Y/n scooted next to Abby, wrapping her arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.
"For what?" Abby asked through a mouth full of food.
"Opening up to me. Thank you." Abby's stomach twisted into a knot, she knew Owen was rolling in his grave.

Abby didn't sleep. She clutched onto her blankets staring at the ceiling, listening to the fire crackle and Y/n softly snore. Her blood surged through her with rigor and she could hear her heart beat in her ears. Tomorrow she would go to the gates.