𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗕𝗜𝗔- rick grimes

THIRTY SIX

THIRTY SIX

ARIA LOOKED AROUND THE ROOM she was currently in, a living room to be exact. Books stacked on shelves on either side of the window she was looking out of, a chair placed in front of one of the rows of shelves. Directly across from the chair was a couch, a yellow knitted throw blanket accessorized the top of the brown leather. There even happened to be a fire place, things cluttered on the mantle above. Aria was too busy to notice the woman that now stood in the room, hand leaning on the couch.

"You mind if I film this?" The woman's voice almost startled Aria out of her trance. Her rather odd question taking the brunette off guard, "Excuse me?"

"Do you mind if I film our talk?" She repeated as clarification, a small smile on her face.

Aria's head nodded, understanding what the lady had meant. "Oh, go ahead." She paused as she thought of why the woman wanted to film their conversation. "Why do you wanna film this?"

"We're about transparency here." She began to set down, indicating for Aria to do the same. "How long have you been out there?"

Aria sat in one of the chairs in front of the couch and camera, it blinking red to show it was recording. "Since the beginning... or well a few months after it actually started."

"How did you all find each other?" She asked, pressing further. "Did you know each other before or—?"

"No, we didn't know each other before." Aria simply stated, her voice sounding bored at the questions she had been bluntly answering.

"I was a congressman." Deanna told Aria, her arms placed neatly on her crossed knees. "Ohio, 15th district. What about you?"

"I don't see how that matters anymore." Aria said, her brows furrowing as she didn't think this would be a questionnaire about her past. Deanna simply shook her head in disagreement, "Oh, I know it does."

Aria shrugged, not letting anything fall from her lips as she was becoming rather skeptical of her and her intentions. "How'd you end up here?"

"Well, my family and I were trying to get back from Ohio so I could help my district manage the crisis and, um." Deanna paused as she let out a deep sigh. "The army stopped us on a back road and directed us here. They were supposed to come later. They didn't. But there were supplies here and we made the best of it."

Aria moved slightly in her seat, "So you built the wall?"

"Well, there was this huge shopping mall being built nearby. And my husband, Reg, is a professor of architecture." Deanna replied sitting forward in her spot on the couch. "And who he was mattered quite a bit. He got the first plates up with our sons. And after a few weeks, more people arrived and we had help. We had a community."

Aria ran her tongue over her teeth in frustration, the fact these people got to be sheltered from the torment and chaos of the world around just because of a few walls. "Must be nice being able to hide behind these walls while we were out there watching everyone we love die."

"You're here now." Deanna said, sitting back in her seat. "We need people who've lived out there. Your group is the first we've even considered taking in for a long time."

Aria nodded, leaning forward now as her elbows rested on her knees. "And I appreciate that but you should really keep these gates closed. The people out there are sick and you don't want that here."