found lands → the walking dead ³

[ 012 ] a new life begins.

FOUND LANDS.

chapter twelve, a new life begins.
[ season five, episode twelve ]

WHEN THE GATES ROLL open, Odessa sucks in a breath. Inside are houses and clean streets and no walkers.

Something hits the trash can and everyone has their weapons pointed at it. A possum scurries out and Daryl quickly releases a bolt into the poor animal.

He picks it up and a man in a peach colored shirt rolls the gate open the rest of the way. He stares at the dead animal.

"We brought dinner." Daryl holds it up.

It takes everything in Theo not to laugh. He just smirks at Daryl's way of greeting.

"It's okay," Aaron says and motions for the group to comes inside. "Come on in, guys."

They do as told. They all stroll inside, guards up and looking around. The man shuts the gate behind them and starts, "before we take this any further I need you all to turn over your weapons. Stay, you hand them over."

"Yeah, no." Odessa speaks up. "Not gonna happen, Beta Male."

His eyes shoot to her. She cocks her head to the side with narrowed eyes. Rick steps in before Odessa can ruin this for them. "We don't know if we want to stay."

"It's fine, Nicholas." Aaron says to the man.

Odessa laughs at the name. Already, she doesn't like this man. And now he doesn't like her either.

"If we were gonna use them, we would have started already." Cole pips.

A woman approaches the scene with a smile. She has big brown eyes, her hands are folded behind her back. She's clean; her hair is washed, her clothes aren't grimy or blood stained. She wears a pair of jeans and a red and blue flannel over a black T-shirt.

"Let them talk to Deanna first." She says. Nicholas and Aaron both turn to look at her. Aaron smiles at her.

"Who's Deanna?" Abraham calls.

"She knows everything you'd want to know about this place." The woman says. "My name is Kathleen Cooper, you can call me Kath. I'm Deanna's assistant. You, why don't you start?" She nods at Rick.

A walker snarls from outside the gate. "Theo." Rick says. The nineteen year old turns and raises his rifle. He fires a silence shot into its head.

The cloth part of the gate slides shut as Rick says, "it's a good thing we're here."

Aaron and Kathleen take them to Deanna's home. Rick goes first. The others wait around outside. They're anxious, that much is obvious. People walk by Deanna's house to steal a quick glance at the dirty newcomers.

Odesa shifts uncomfortably. Kathleen remains on the porch, her arms crossed as she watches the group. She's cautious, just as they are.

They can tell the woman does not trust easy.

Rick exits the home soon after. It isn't until after Daryl goes is it Odessa's turn. When she enters the house, an older lady greets her.

"Hello," she says. Odessa glances at her as she leads the teen to her living room. "Please, have a seat."

Odessa sits in the chairs across from the couch. It's the softest thing she's felt since her mattress at the prison.

"Do you mind if I record our talk?" Deanna asks.