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CLAIMED. ONE SIMPLE word that crawled across the woman's skin and sunk her deep into a despair. It seemed all West had done lately was grasp onto strands of hope and they did nothing but slip through her fingers. It had been nearly a year of remaining completely alone — after the brutal separation of her and her family. The chaos had erupted somewhere in Dallas, where their group was attacked by walkers. Her little sister was bit, and she had never seen her after that. The herd divided all of them not long after, and though West heard the gunfire and explosives, and the shouts and growls, she was unsure if anybody had achieved another breath through their lips. She kept moving in the direction they had originally planned, despite the feeling that each step of her foot was on the receiving end of glass shards. To continue on without them, and in the immense fear of another herd, almost felt physically impossible. But she did it.
"Claimed". It came the moment she thought progress had been made — wiping away any shred of faith wedged in between her soul and heart. Her identity no longer felt intact. It was replaced instead with a title, like she was a piece of property. The words rolling off of the men's tongues followed by arguments to have the girl to themselves sparked anxiety in her, as she eyed each and everyone one of them individually to find a good soul. There were none.
West dug the outsole of her boot into gravel while her heartbeat thumped rapidly into her chest. They were speaking of her as if she wasn't standing before them. Right then and there she realized the absence of her personality altogether, and how the urge to fight dissipated over time. Normally, a snarky or sarcastic comment would've escaped her. Maybe a threat to kill them, or a raise of her weapon. Instead, she stared absentmindedly, too weakened by her lonesome insecurities to chop up a reaction. "Now, Lou put claim on this girl," An older, gray-haired man put his finger in one of the younger-looking claimers' face. "It wouldn't be fair if he had to share for no reason, Len, now would it?" From where she stood, West could see Len's face twisted in anger through the outline of the leader's fingers.
Share. That woke her up a little more as goosebumps pricked her arm hairs.
She hadn't had human interaction in a long time. Even seeing fresh, alive faces threw her into a state of confusion. She backed away gently in realization, fingers trembling to grab the edge of her dagger. It was far too late; two bulky arms pulled at her on each side, causing the weapon to clatter onto the ground.
West swallowed heavily, and knowingly. She'd need to fight again, and this time a little harder, despite the fact that she was in no condition to do so.
As the hours passed on, she thought she may die of starvation instead as they all ate around her. She attempted to kill her own rabbit with a rock, to which Joe had snatched her hands in his to prevent her. "You're claimed. Property. What's yours is Lou's. If he chooses to feed you, he can."
The girl still remained speechless, but let him know it was by choice as she glared at him menacingly until he released her hands. She stomped off in response, but he was right on her heels. "What? You don't speak English?" After several moments of silence and the slap of her shoes against the mud, he spoke again. "That's okay. We like the silence better."
