Outcast (A TWD Fanfiction)

Epilogue: Legacy

"Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they tell about you." Shannon Alder

The man awoke to a tiny fist clutching his shirt, and his eyes opened wide.

Big, bright eyes peered back at him in the candlelight and he realized he'd drifted off.

"Daddy, I had a bad dream."

The man sat up and outstretched his arm towards the little girl. "Come here, you can sit and tell me all about it."

The little girl pouted, before crawling up into the chair and resting on the man's lap. "I don't think I want to talk about it."

The man smiled softly. "Well, the best way to get over the things that scare us is to talk about them. Sometimes, having somebody to talk to makes them less scary."

The little girl seemed to ponder on this for a moment. "Okay. I had a dream that Carl fell and he had to get stitches."

"That is pretty scary."

The man smiled, and suddenly he looked around at his peaceful surroundings.

The cozy cabin with the fireplace and the rocking chair. His wife, fast asleep in the other room. He looked back down at his daughter, a feeling of relief washing over him that she was able to experience such trivial nightmares.

Beside him on the counter, rested a pair of glasses and a worn and fading note, handwritten long ago.

"Can you tell me a story?"

"Sure. Which one do you want to hear? Rapunzel? Cinderella?"

The little girl shook her head, the curls around her face bobbing as she moved. "Uh-uh. I want to hear about the girl that talked to ghosts."

The man blinked, his eyes widening. "You sure? You just woke up from a nightmare."

"She didn't wear a dress like Cinderella, and she was brave. She makes me want to be brave."

The man smiled again. "She was the bravest woman there ever was."

"I bet she was never afraid."

"She fought monsters of all shapes and sizes. And she wasn't afraid to be herself, even if it made her different. And when she was afraid, do you know what she'd do?"

The little girl grinned and took her dad's hands. "She'd look the scary thing in the eyes, take a deep breath, and yell at the top of her lungs."

The man smiled back. "Exactly."

"There was a time when the people that died didn't want to stay dead. There were no rules, no bedtimes and no ice cream. The people that were alive, well, they were scared. But not this woman, because she talked to ghosts. To her, they were people, just like you and me."

"She knew that even when she was alone, there were always people around that she could talk to. She spent her time trying to help other people that were sad."

"Did she help Rick Grimes?"

The man paused. "She did. She wanted to help build a better world for you and me."

The little girl yawned. "Safe from monsters?"

The man nodded. 

"Safe from monsters. Here, let me tuck you in," he said, scooping her up into his arms and carrying her to her bed.

"Did you love her, daddy?" she asked after he'd set her down.

The man froze for a second, before reaching down to plant a kiss on the girl's forehead.

He looked down. "With my whole heart."

"Why isn't she here?"

The man tucked her blankets in, before standing up and heading towards the bedroom door.

How could the man tell her the real answer to that question without telling her everything from the moment he'd met the woman, all those fateful years ago?

The truth was, the woman was as vilified as she was revered.

Her name was only ever spoken of in hushed whispers, when reports from the Western front would come in.

Eugene worked tirelessly to lead the efforts in building a continental railroad that would stretch from coast to coast and connect the remaining survivors, making trade and transport easier. Much of the territory in between however, still remained neutral, land that was uncharted and still in the process of being restored.

Nobody would ever say her name outright, but when push came to shove, the woman headed the risky expeditions into these parts unknown that ultimately resulted in any chance of success humanity had at surviving.

She and Eugene worked together like a well-oiled machine, and nothing would get in the pair's way to reclaim the new world in the name of the living.

"She's still out there, still has work to do. To get the world back to the way it used to be... I'm gonna turn the lights out now, do you need anything sweetheart?"

"No, I'm okay. Goodnight daddy."

The man's fingers wrapped around the door, before he slowly shut it.

"Goodnight, Ellie."

---

That's a wrap, everyone!

Thanks again so much for taking the time out of your days to check out this story, and I am so sorry time got the best of me. I simply do not have enough of it in a day to craft the story ya'll deserve, so I hope this was some sort of closure. 

I wanted to create a fearless female character that didn't compromise for anybody, and thus, Ellen was born.

Avatar Korra, Jessica Jones, Rorschach from Watchmen, Attack on Titan's Eren Jaeger were all character inspirations for Ellen. Breaking Bad's Walter White had the character development (or regression) I wanted to explore, something I haven't played around with when writing a character. Basically, I wanted to build a lovable, relatable character that grows increasingly volatile and villainous, but that we still root for, because hey, she's got a point.

I wanted to give her some agency and leave her story open-ended, because in my mind she'd be fighting until she's like 80 and grey, and as long as there are bad people out there, she'll never be bored. 

Okay, thanks again everybody, and farewell. 

As always, Happy reading!