A Galway Runner and a Kentucky Cop

41

They walked slowly behind Aaron as he led them behind the walls, the gate squeaking closed behind them--
"Before we take this any further, I need you to turn over you weapons." The man that opened the gate tells them.
Y/n and Naill look him over, they don't see a threat but his words were enough to put them on edge.
"Stay, you hand them over."
Niall's hand fell to the gun in his waist band, they hadn't fired a shot since they stole it from Terminus, hadn't needed to.
"Why? Scared of two people?" Niall asks "If a entire community can't handle two people with knives, I don't see it lastin' too long."
"It's okay, Nicholas." Aaron tells him
Niall's hand returns to Y/n's back.
"Let them talk to Deanna first." He looks between them "Y/n, why don't you start."
"Do I seem like less of a threat?" Y/n tilts her head a little
"The opposite." Aaron flashes a quick smile
She snorts a little but nods, gesturing him forwards "Lead the way."

She didn't expect when Aaron led her into the house it'd be like an actual home, with clean furniture, books, a cd player, other things she hadn't seen in a while.
"I can take Judith, have someone get her some food while yo--"
"I'll cut off your arms and legs if ye dare touch her." She threatens, not even sparing him a glance.
Aaron nods and backs away, closing the door behind himself.
She paces the room, looking over every inch of it in stunned silence, it was heavy, emotional in a way. She comes to a window and looks out of it, at the trees, neat bushes and flowers that grew outside--cut grass of all things.
Inside there was a fire in the fire place, warming the room, she had shed her jacket and unwrapped Judith so she wouldn't get too hot.
She looks down at Judith "This must look strange to ye." She mutters "Trust me, it's strange to me after all this time... Maybe we can both get used to it." She bounces her--
"Hello."
She looks over her shoulder and sees a woman, she took a breath before turning to face her properly.
"I'm Deanna Monroe."
"Y/n O'Halloran." She mutters
"And who's this?" She smiles at the baby in her arms
"Judith." She glances out the window next to her.
"You mind if I film this?"
Her eyebrows knit together as she looks over at her "Pardon?"
"Do you mind if I film our talk?"
Y/n glances at the camera set up behind the couch "Whatever turns ye on."
Deanna goes over to the camera
"What's the point of it?"
She clicks start on the camera "We're about transparency here." She nods over to the chair directly in front of the camera "Please."
Y/n takes a deep breath before she goes over to the chair, she slowly sits down on the very edge of it, like she didn't know how a chair worked anymore.
She was almost lured into collapsing into it when she felt how soft it was, especially compared to the ground.
She puts Judith on her knee, holding her close as she looked anywhere besides the woman and camera.
"How long have you been out there?" Deanna asks as she sits down across from her
"Since it started."
"How did you two find each other? Did you know each other before--"
"Yeah, since we were babies."
"I was a congressperson. Ohio, 15th district. You?"
Y/n scoffed, a smile tugging at her lips "Ye want my résumé?" She sucks in a deep breath, rubbing at her eyes "Uh... Nothing--I was just a house wife."
"Is the man you came here with your husband?"
She breathed a laugh "No, no... he's my brother."
"What happened to your husband?"
"Died--Before all this."
"I'm sorry."
"Shit happens." She shrugs
"May I ask what happened?"
"Natural causes." Y/n looks around "What's the deal here?"
"This is the start of sustainability. That's what the brochures we found say. This was a planned community, with its own solar grid, cisterns, eco-based sewage filtration. Starting in the low 800,000s... if there is such a thing." She laughs "And they sold them all."
"Ye been here since the start?"
"My family and I were trying to get back to Ohio so I could help my district manage the crisis. And, uh..." She sighs "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."
"Supplies?"
"We put up the walls--There was a huge shopping mall being built nearby. And my husband Reg is a professor of architecture." She leans forwards "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." She smiles
"Ye... Ye, all of these people... Ye've been behind these walls since the beginning?" She shook her head at the idea.
"We need people who have lived out there."
Y/n looks down at Judith when she babbled, she whispers to her and brushes the hair out of her eyes.
"Is she yours?" Deanna smiles at her
Y/n shakes her head "No, she's... uh..." She pauses, the last thing she wanted to do was talk about him "The leader of the group we were with, she's his."
"What happened to your group?"
"We were attacked, got separated... never found each other." She clear her throat, fighting back the pain of the months that had passed without knowing if they were alive, not knowing if they'd ever see each other again.
"I'm sorry, that must've been hard."
"Yeah, knowin' she has a father and brother out there somewhere..." She shakes her head, sighing
"You were under attack and you saved her? That's brave." She gives her a faint smile
"I couldn't leave her--I was there when she was born." She clears her throat, looking at her "Why do ye want people who's been out there?"
"I want you--People like you to help us survive."
She takes a deep breath "I'm not sure I can help anyone... If my group was here..." She smiles slightly "They could protect this place."
Deanna smiles at her "You miss them?"
"Yeah... I was hoping... maybe one day they'll find this place." She looks around, trying to picture her family settling in a place like this.
"So, you're thinking about staying." She leans forwards, smile widening.
Y/n shrugs "I think Niall should talk to ye before I say anything, he's good at reading people."
"So am I." She stands up and holds her hand out
Y/n stands up and takes it, the contrast between Deanna's clean skin against her dirt and blood covered skin telling a lot about the lives they had been living since the start of this.
But to Y/n, her clean, unscarred skin screamed weak, a large sign telling her her and the people living here aren't fit for this world.