Scarlett Greene hadn't spoken since she was twelve. After her Daddy was arrested for abuse when she was seventeen, she is sent to live with her Uncle Hershel. Her life gets better, but the trauma is still there.
When the apocalypse begins, she take...
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tyreese and sasha
RICK HAD BEEN GONE A WHILE. Scarlett was keeping things in order at the prison just as he asked her to. Hershel was proudly watching her as she held the baby in one arm while directing the others with her other hand. She would held with chores as best as she could while holding Judith, as the baby did not like anyone else's touch really.
"I know she's not yours, but I'm going to take this moment in," Hershel said with a laugh as he watched her help Carl and Sophia with some math work. Carl was annoyed, but Scarlett could care less. He needed to be a kid for a little while. "Let Grandpa Hershel have a turn."
Scarlett laughed as she let Judith go with Hershel. Judith cried a bit, but she relaxed soon after.
"Do three more problems and then I'll let you go," Scarlett promised. "Carol has a few chores for Sophia to do, but Carl, I'll have you take watch." This seemed to perk Carl up, so he rushed to help Sophia with the three problems so they finished it faster.
Scarlett smiled at Carol as she and Beth did some sorting of the food they got. Axel was nearby, still giving her weird vibes, but she tried to ignore it best she could.
Carl finished the problems quickly, asking Scarlett to check them. She nodded, impressed before handing him his gun and letting him go take watch. Sophia rushed to her mother who gave Scarlett a grateful nod.
Scarlett could not help but yawn as she looked around at the small home they made. Hershel noticed this, knowing she was tired.
"Go lie down, Scar. I can keep everything under control for a few hours. Take Judith," he told her with a smile.
Scarlett bit her lip before nodding.
"I'll wake you if anything happens. I promise," he said, and she opened her mouth but she closed it when he added, "and I'll watch Carl. Go."
Scarlett nodded, picking up Judith again as she walked to her cell. She got in the bed, laying Judith on her chest as she made it so neither were going to roll. Judith was already asleep within seconds, so Scarlett let her own eyes shut as she focused on the baby's soft little heart beats.
It was not too much longer that Scarlett heard someone calling out for her. Groaning, she opened her eyes to see Judith still sleeping and Carl's wide, frantic eyes staring at her.
"What's wrong?" she whispered, sitting up with Judith still in her arms. The baby began to whimper a bit.
"I, uh–" he gulped. "I found a small group of people. They were hurt. One of them was dead. Hershel is in there stitching one of them up. I couldn't—I couldn't let them die."
Scarlett stood, hugging him tightly. "You did so good, baby," she whispered as Judith began to cry louder. "Must be hungry. Take me to them."
They grabbed a formula on the way as Carl unlocked the cell and let them inside. Carol and Axel were in there already, and she was glad Sophia and Beth stayed away.
There were four people in total, two dark-skinned people who were sitting close. They had to be brother and sister by the worry on her face. The other two were white, a father-son duo. They looked miserable, all of them. She sighed, knowing they needed to help them.
"You can take those stitches out yourself in a week or so," Hershel told the brother who glanced up as Carl, Scarlett, and Judith walked inside the cell block. Hershel glanced at her. "Good. Sorry to wake you, Scarlett."
Scarlett was feeding Judith as they all stared at each other awkwardly. She nodded at Hershel, feeling uncomfortable by the father staring at her.
"Pretty nice having medical training," the man who was stitched up said after a moment. He was the brother.
"It'll only get you so far," Hershel said with a dry laugh.
"You were bit?"
He did not answer the obvious question as he stood shakily. Carl helped him stand straight as Scarlett noticed the father-son duo looking way too skittish for her liking.
"How old is the baby?" the woman asked with a smile.
"Barely a week," Carl answered for Scarlett, looking at her questionably as she was getting better with talking to people. What was wrong?
"To be honest, we never thought we'd see another baby," the woman said as she stepped a bit closer. Scarlett let her because the woman did not give off bad vibes. She seemed okay. "Beautiful." Scarlett smiled tightly. "How are you feeling?"
Scarlett glanced at Carl quickly as Carol said for her, "She's not Scarlett's baby." Scarlett was glad Carol said something. Her throat felt closed up again. She hated her anxiety.
"Where's the mother?" Scarlett kept her gaze on Carl who clenched his jaw. "I'm sorry."
"Man, you people have been through the mill," the man said to them as he, too, came to admire the baby.
Hershel shrugged. "Haven't we all?"
"It's only getting worse out there," the man continued. "Dead are everywhere. And it's only making the living less like the living. You're the only decent folks we've come across."
"You've been out there all this time?" Carol asked them.
Scarlett handed the empty bottle to Carl as she placed Judith on her shoulder to be burped. She patted her back while rocking gently. For the baby not being hers, everyone watched in amazement as she took care of the baby as if Judith was hers.
"Our neighbor Jerry, he was one of those survivalist nuts," the man continued. "Everybody on the block thought he was crazy. Always preparing for the end of the world."
"Who knew?"
"Jerry knew. He had a bunker under his shed in the backyard. Sasha and I stayed there until we ran out of supplies. Allen and Ben were the first two people we ran into when we finally crawled up out of that hole around Jacksonville. Used to be a bunch of us. 25 at one point. Our camp was overrun six, seven weeks ago. And–and Donna, she, uh..."
"We'll see that she has a proper burial," Hershel told them.
"I appreciate you taking care of us. For a while, we didn't know who we were dealing with," he admitted.
"Neither did we," Scarlett told him with narrowed eyes. They all focused on the woman who seemed to radiate power. She must be in charge, they thought.
"We've had our problems with people," Carol added.
"I must be the first brother in history to break into prison," he said, making them laugh. Scarlett kept her face neutral as she heard a burp come from the baby. Kissing her head, she turned and handed the baby gently to Carl.
"Makes me the first white boy that didn't want to break out," Axel joked back.
"Tyreese," Hershel said, finally giving the man a name for Scarlett. "Like I said, we have a much larger group. A close-knit group. I wouldn't get too comfortable here."
"We wouldn't be a problem," Tyreese told them. Scarlett pushed Carl gently out of the cell back to their block as Carol and Axel followed.
"It's not up to me," Hershel said.
"Then who?"
Hershel looked at Scarlett, which made their gaze follow. Hershel knew Rick would listen to her even if he did not agree at first. Yes, he was the leader, but she was his most important confidant.
Tyreese noticed Hershel's gaze and immediately said, "Please, Miss Scarlett, you can see what kind of people we are."
Hershel hobbled out of the cell block as she turned, glancing at Allen and Ben before turning to Tyreese and Sasha.
"Get some rest," she told them, ignoring when Sasha gave out a frustrated sigh. She knew it was frustrating, but she had to think about Judith. Allen and Ben made her uncomfortable. She had to think. "Holler if you need somethin'."
