Solitude -> The Walking Dead

51

Never again.

Never trust.

We first.

The words painted on the walls stare back at me as the ropes dig into my skin. I inhaled deeply before stretching my neck in an attempt to see the room better. It seemed to be a hall of some kind.

Wherever I looked, I saw more of the same words scribbled onto the walls. No matter how hard I tried to concentrate, they were all I could think about.

"Do you know why it's you?"

The sound of her ominous voice made me hold in a groan. I've been in this situation so many times that it's gotten boring at this point. Our enemies always have a way of singling me out and then trying to isolate me from the others.

Never works, yet they keep trying. At this point, I don't know. Do I have the words traitor scribbled on my forehead?

"Because if it wasn't, the universe would collapse in on itself due to the grave importance of my existence?" I grumbled.

The woman stepped into view. Her ragged clothes gave her a scruffy and homeless look. Though I suppose we're all homeless now.

She knelt down in front of me. "I remembered your name from when your sister asked for you. She painted quite a nice, little image of you."

In an attempt to locate me, Dakota's been oversharing with lunatics. The image of me probably isn't flattering but accurate if I was that easy to recognize.

Maybe that's why when they took four of our own, I was grabbed, too. I don't know where the others were taken to. I had my own problem to solve.

"Save your breath," I said before leaning in closer, "propaganda doesn't work on me."

A couple of hours. That's all I'd been given with my sister before I was torn from her again. Having her so close yet so far reminded me of the brother I've lost and the sister I've yet to find.

After finding one, I was sure of finding the other. No amount of rope nor threats was going to stop me from doing that.

"It's freedom I'm offering. You understand. I can tell it. Something was taken from you, and the void it's left has consumed you." she mumbled, more to herself than me.

Her fingers gripped my chin as she pulled my head closer to hers. My eyes locked with hers. The reflection inside her eyes was one of a mad woman. The fact that my own reflection was in there didn't soothe me.

Whatever she saw in me, I saw it clearly reflected in her. The pain of loss and the need to keep what remains safe. I blinked away those thoughts.

I was not her. I was not them.

"I know you have them." I said.

The mention made her loosen her grip on me before letting go completely. My lack of focus on her words irritated her. Good. If there was one thing I was good at, it was doing the opposite of what people wanted me to do.

A sigh left her lips as she stood up again. "They're right down that hallway if you want to see them. All you have to do is say yes."

My eyes flickered over the door she pointed before opening my mouth to speak. There was no point in doing so because just as I did, the ground shook below us.

Surprise crossed both of our faces. If Rick has somehow managed to pull this off with the limited amount of weapons and advantages, then I've definitely made the right decision about him.

The woman ran off trying to figure out what was going on. As she did, I bent my body before reaching for my boot. They never check there for weapons. It's embarrassing at this point.