Love is Dead

Chapter One: A Deal with A Devil

Margot froze up again. She promised herself that she wouldn't, that she'd take the shot, but she just couldn't. This time, someone got hurt because of her. The people of their incredibly small community already looked down on her, and this certainly wouldn't help.

"I told you she wasn't ready," Margot overheard her sister, Rowan, say from inside their cabin. "I know you want her to earn her keep, but she already has a job here."

"Anyone can patch clothes or water crops." Buck, Rowan's husband replied.

"But not everyone can go on the outside. You're just needlessly putting her in danger."

"We put ourselves in danger everyday," Buck said, and Margot could hear him smack the wooden table with his hand. "She's not a child anymore, she's an adult and we're not going to give her special treatment. She can contribute as much as the others."

And that's what Margot wanted. She'd been coddled her whole life and it wasn't fair that she got to live peacefully within their settlement when everyone else was forced to risk their lives to scavenge for medicine and supplies, or hunt deer, or whatever. This was supposed to be Margot's chance to prove that she could do that, and she failed. Buck would give in to Rowan eventually, and Margot would be stuck sewing patches onto clothes for the rest of eternity.

"So, how'd it go today?" A voice asked in a slight southern accent, causing Margot to look up from the bench on their front porch she was sitting on. Her best friend, Jeremy, stood at the bottom of the steps.

"Didn't you hear about Penny? She almost got bit."

Jeremy walked up the steps and sat beside Margot. "Oh, yeah, I saw my mom patchin' her up. Her leg was ripped to shreds."

Margot shivered. She'd seen all the blood, she didn't need a reminder. The sight of Penny struggling to free herself from that zombie's grasp before it bit her was already etched into her brain. The way it dug its nails into her flesh. It hadn't been the worst thing Margot had seen, but it wasn't like she saw that kind of stuff often.

"Do you wanna have dinner at mine? Get away from all... that." Jeremy gestured behind them at the cabin, where Rowan and Buck were still arguing.

"Is your mom making boiled potatoes again?"

He sighed. "It's pretty much the only thing she knows how to make, and Mary and Connie don't mind it. They just think I'm picky."

Margot chuckled. "I think I'll pass, but have fun with your bland potatoes."

"Actually, my mom will probably be helping out with Penny's kids tonight since she won't be able to cook them anything for 'em, and you know my sisters will probably wanna help out, too, and my dad's gonna wanna go with them to get some dinner, so it'd just be the two of us."

"Really, it's–"

"So, maybe we could make it, you know, like a date?" He said, picking at a string on his shirt.

It surprised Margot a bit that he was asking outright this time. He usually hinted towards them having a date, and she'd always act clueless so she didn't have to verbally reject him. Jeremy had been showing interest in her for quite a while, so it was only a matter of time, but that didn't make it any less surprising. What was she even supposed to say? No matter how hard she tried, Margot couldn't view him romantically. He was an attractive guy, and he was kind and funny, maybe a little stupid sometimes but he made up for it in muscle. Any girl would be lucky to have him, but Margot didn't want to be that girl.

"You know, this probably isn't a very–" Margot barely got to finish speaking when the cabin door was thrown open and Buck stormed out. "–good time."