𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐌 (𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑥𝑜𝑛)

𝐹𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑦 𝑂𝑛𝑒

Weeks later

I squeezed the trigger with my index finger and one silenced gunshot rang out. A glass bottle sitting several yards away shattered and I smiled triumphantly.

"You're getting better."

I lowered the pistol and switched on the safety before turning. Jack proudly looked my way with his big brown eyes. His flannel shirt rolled up, revealing an intricate sleeve of tattoos on his right arm.

"I have a good teacher," I smirked.

"Well, this teacher needs his gun back," Jack held out his hand. Small strands of brown hair fell over his forehead as he leaned towards me.

"You going somewhere?" I asked jokingly and returned his weapon.

"I don't know," he frowned. "Our boys aren't back yet. They should've gotten here an hour ago."

Earlier that day, Lee and a few others left to search a nearby town's pharmacy. With Betty about to give birth, we needed all the medicine we could get.

"You think they ran into some trouble?"

"Maybe," he shrugged. "I might have to go out and look for them."

"They went to that town by the prison, right? It's not too far away. If we leave now, even on foot, we can get back before sundown."

"We?" Curiosity gleamed in his eyes.

"I'm going with you."

"That's new."

Besides being the group's doctor, Jack organized supply runs. He thought fast on his feet and was an expert on the surrounding area. Jack grew up in the town where Lee and Kenny ventured off to, and knew how to get around quickly. He drew Lee and Kenny a map before they left. From the looks of things, it didn't do them much good.

Every able bodied member of the group went on a supply run eventually. Lee wouldn't risk people getting weak behind the walls. I, however, had been given clemency. After being alone for those weeks after Hershel's farm fell, I needed to feel safe again. Lee agreed that I could take my time and go out when I felt ready.

"I'm just tired of being useless," I shrugged. "I don't wanna prove Kenny right."

Even after a month, Kenny hadn't relented his suspicions of me. He made sure that every encounter we had was met with a side eye and a frown.

"You're not useless," Jack placed a hand on my shoulder.

For a moment, his eyes were blue, and all I could see was a fading memory of the man I wished were there instead. I turned away from him and rubbed my forehead.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath.

"You okay?"

I opened my mouth to respond when nearby shouting suddenly cut me off. The two of us fled to the front of the house where we witnessed the giant gate being pulled open by Betty's husband David and his brother Gabriel.

David yelled for Jack and I followed him to the gate. Lee and Kenny hobbled through the opening. Kenny's arm was wrapped around Lee's shoulder, struggling to move with his left ankle slightly raised.

"What the hell happened?!" Jack rushed over and helped bring Kenny further inside.

"The fuck does it look like?! I twisted my goddamn ankle!" Kenny spat.

"We were on our way back and we got ambushed by a herd of roamers by the pharmacy," Lee explained through heavy pants.

"Where's the medication? And the truck?" Jack pressed.

"We put the meds in a blue duffle. A roamer got a hold of it. I had to leave it behind. There were too many of them blocking the way back to the car." Beads of sweat ran down Lee's temple.

"We need those meds," Jack looked up at me for a moment, desperation swimming in his eyes.

"Can y'all hurry it up?!" Kenny groaned impatiently.

No one voiced any more questions and Kenny was carried back into the house.

✯✯✯

After Kenny was checked out by Jack, a plan to go back into town quickly unfolded.

The majority of the group gathered in the dining room. Connor and May stood on either side of me, waiting to hear Jack speak.

"Alright," he announced. "I'm gonna need three people to come with me into town. I already have Charlotte as a volunteer. I need two more."

May gently nudged me.

"You didn't tell us you were ready to go back out," she whispered.

"I'm down."

A chill ran through my body as I recognized the smug tone of the person I disliked most. Grant sat on the other end of the room with his gang: Amara, his vixen girlfriend, and Sergio, a scrawny Russian boy who copied everything Grant did.

Grant was a former Marine. He had Shane's build and the devil's tongue. He never actually did anything to me that warranted my distaste, but the sour feeling in my stomach that arose each time he was around was enough for me to keep my distance.

Hearing Grant volunteer, May suddenly perked up.

"Me too," she quickly said.

Sergio, who followed Grant around like a dog, glared at May through his rectangle glasses.

"All right, that settles it. We leave in fifteen," Jack nodded to us.

As everyone dispersed, I caught a glimpse of a yellow dress waiting by the open door. I smiled and walked through the doorway to see Clementine looking up at me.

"Hey, you," I ruffled her pigtails.

"Are you going with Jack?"

"Yeah, I am."

A small pout appeared on her lips and she shyly looked away for a moment.

"I wanted you to draw with me," she said. I spotted several crayons and two sheets of paper hiding behind her back.

I crouched before her to meet her eyes.

"I promise that when I get back, we'll draw together."

Clementine grinned and excitedly rocked back and forth on her feet.

"Why don't you go draw something for Kenny? I'm sure that would help him feel a lot better."

"Okay," she mused. "See you later, crocodile."

I didn't have the heart to correct her and let Clementine hurry away to begin her art. I stood up and turned to make my way back to the stairs when I noticed someone watching me from the shadows. I squinted my eyes and recognized Amara.

"How cute," she remarked smugly and emerged from her hiding place. "I love kids."

"What are you doing?" I stepped closer.

"Just watching," she shrugged. Amara somehow always managed to have a wine colored lipstick on. It amazed me how skewed her priorities were.

"Have fun on your trip," Amara smiled slyly before disappearing around another corner.

✯✯✯

(𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 5/24/21)

𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝑻𝒊𝒌𝑻𝒐𝒌 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆