Fragmented Zombie

Broken Youth

While in the helicopter, the survivors are trying to come up with something to talk about. Jaren's curiosity towards Ayden's missing leg and the scar over Kandace's left eye was eating away at them. They didn't question it, though. As a distraction, Jaren made an attempt to find something else to talk about. It was hard to, though, since the subject at hand was hard to ignore. Jaren chose to sit in silence, hoping that someone else would bring it up.

This was the first time the group was able to talk about something that WASN'T about saferooms and zombies. And yet, none of them wanted to mess it up. That was until Charli spoke up. "Hey, Kandace? Out of curiosity, how'd you get that scar over your eye," Charli asked, hoping she wasn't being invasive.

"When I was in kindergarten one of the other kids in my class took a pair of scissors and slashed my eye with it. And because of that I'm blind in my left eye and have a scar over it," Kandace answered. "And that was before my parents got divorced and my dad and I moved to Boulder, Colorado."

"At least you still have both your legs. I wasn't as lucky," Ayden cuckold, gesturing to his stump. "Granted, those are two entirely different situations."

"You know, I always wondered about that. I was just too scared to ask," Jaren chimed in. Jaren was upset with themself for adding to the conversation. They tried their hardest to stay quiet. However, Jaren couldn't hold it in anymore.

"There's nothing to worry about. My leg was amputated at the knee due to a tumor at the base of my ankle. It was an issue as it was where my ankle meets my foot. And because of that, I found it difficult to walk. My parents opted to have my leg amputated at the knee as they were worried getting the tumor removed would damage the nerves in my foot."

The things Kandace and Ayden said about their injuries were tame compared to what the others thought happened to them. Jaren was relieved that Ayden and Kandace's injuries weren't caused by their parents. Though, Jaren wondered about what caused Kandace's parents' divorce. But they knew that wasn't any of their business. If anything, Jaren was just glad Kandace was okay.

Things got quiet. Vere shifted uncomfortably. It was as if xe had something to say but xe didn't want to say it. Vere's face had a mixed look of anger and disappointment. Upon further inspection, it looked like the mere mention of any parental figure upset Vere. Even Becker was surprised to see Vere in such a state.

"Are you okay Vere," Charli asked in a concerned voice.

"At least your parents cared about you," Vere barked.

"I-I never said anything about my mother caring about me," Kandace stammered. "That was a part of why my parents got divorced. After I came out as a demigirl and a lesbian, my mother became toxic if not outright abusive towards me. I got lucky when my father got custody over me."

Vere was flabbergasted. Vere quickly apologized for making assumptions and kept xyrs mouth shut. Vere was trying desperately not to tell the others too much about xemself. But xe was starting to cave. Vere didn't know how much xe could take it to xemself. After all, Ayden and Kandace opened up about what happened to them. Why couldn't Vere?

"You know you can talk about what's bothering you, right Vere?" Charli kept his voice calm and gentle. She hoped that it would help Vere open up.

"It's my stupid parents, alright? Can't you just drop it?" Vere was starting to get irritable. On top of that, Vere was starting to think the conversation was an interrogation. Maybe Vere wasn't feeling irritable. Maybe xe was feeling threatened.

"I would if it didn't sound like you were on the verge of crying."

Vere was quiet for a moment. Xe didn't know how to tell the others about xyr dead sister. Vere didn't even know to explain how abusive xyr parents were without giving out too much. On the one hand, Vere wouldn't be haunted by xyrs past anymore. On the other hand, Vere's giving the others something to use against xem. Well, except for Kandace. But who's to say Kandace wouldn't use Vere's information against xem.