𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐀𝐑𝐌 , dina

chapter two | brand new face

            IT WAS A new day in Jackson; she started training for patrols today. She was a mix of excited and nervous; the look on her face and the way her hands shook were enough to prove that. She stared at herself in the mirror of her home, trying to keep herself calm and questioning all of her life choices at the same time.

More importantly, she thought about her parents. She thought about how proud her parents would be if they could see her right now. They always talked about the future they wanted for her and how proud they were. They were so proud of their daughter, no matter what she did.

Deep down, she knew they would still be proud if they saw her today.

She let out one final breath before she heard a knock on her door. "Hold on, I'm ready, I swear!" She yelled to who she thought was Tommy and Maria. Once she reached the door, she opened it to find the girl she had become friends with yesterday, Cat. "Hey, I wasn't expecting to see you yet. What's up?" She asked her with a smile on her face at the sight of her friend.

"I have some people I'd like for you to meet before you start training," Cat replied, returning the smile. "I had a chat with Tommy, and we both agreed that you would be better starting patrols with these people before going with me." She explained.

"When am I meeting them?"

"After breakfast, which is where we should be going right now," Cat replied, grabbed her hand once she grabbed her jacket, and began dragging her to the dining hall. "I've been told that they're serving pancakes. The pancakes here are amazing." She spoke excitedly, keeping a firm grip on her hand to make sure that Y/n wouldn't be getting away. "They are the best thing I've ever had; I can promise you that."

Y/n wouldn't admit it, but she lost track of the conversation once Cat had brought up pancakes. She was still stuck on the fact that she would be meeting people later; she still had no clue who they were. At least a name would be nice. "Why can't I meet these mysterious people first? I mean, you mentioned them first." Y/n tried to bring the conversation back to its original topic. Cat seemed to be avoiding the topic for now, though Y/n wondered why. Why was this so important? "Are we just going to ignore how you changed the topic so fast without giving me time to process and ask questions?" She asked again.

Cat just smiled at her for a moment before continuing what she was saying; that was all the answer Y/n needed. Now, she was giving up until Cat would mention it again if these friends of hers would be mentioned again. At this rate, they would continue to be a mystery until she met them.

If she were being honest, she wasn't even sure if these people truly existed.

She'll find out after breakfast. She didn't get her hopes up, though. Something seemed off about this whole thing. She was probably overthinking it.

Once breakfast was over, Cat led her to the training building, where her friends waited for them. Along the way, Cat explained what her job would be and what was expected of her. It wasn't too different from what her parents had her do when she turned seventeen. Was there a chance that Tommy and Maria taught them a few things after saving them?

Did her parents teach her what they were taught? She had so many questions that needed answers, but not enough time to ask them.

In this town, everyone had a busy schedule from dusk to dawn. Until she starts patrols, her time will be taken up by training for them. She wouldn't have time to pick Tommy's brain about everything he knew about her parents. That part of her life will continue to be a blur.

"Go on inside; I have some stuff to do around town. My friends will take good care of you." Cat spoke as they approached the doors of the training hall. "They won't bite, I promise." She grinned reassuringly, soon patting her on the shoulder and walking away from her.

If she were being honest, this seemed to be how she would come to her horrible demise. This might be how her story ended. She'd seen enough horror movies to know how people like her died in them; it always started like this.

If this was how she was going to go, at least she wouldn't be a clicker or infected.

She took a deep breath before opening the door and walking inside. Targets lined the walls; some had been used, and others looked brand new—or at least as new as possible given the condition of the world right now. She walked further into the building, continuing to look around until she heard two more sets of footsteps that didn't belong to her.

They were walking in her direction.

As they got closer to her, her fight or flight kicked in. She could fight, but her body was telling her to run to safety. She took a deep breath to prepare, and then she saw who she thought was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was a little bit shorter than Y/n with brown eyes and black hair up in a bun. Soon enough, a man taller than her with brown eyes and black hair followed behind her. They were laughing about something. It was probably something they were talking about before she got there. Moments like this made her wish that Cat hadn't abandoned her. "I told her I was the only thing she had to worry about—you must be the new girl that Cat was talking about." The woman cut herself off once she acknowledged the new girl standing in front of her. "My name is Dina, and this is Jesse." She introduced herself and then the man next to her.

Now she could put a name to the face. Y/n loved her name; she thought it was the best name in the world. "You already know who I am if Cat talks about me." She spoke through a nervous chuckle.

She hated herself for that.

"So, what brings you to Jackson?" The man asked curiously. She knew she would have to tell her story sooner or later, but she wasn't ready to do it now. She may never tell her story. This was her chance to forget her past, so it couldn't hurt her anymore. She could be a completely different person, and no one would know her other than her. It was the perfect opportunity; she couldn't say no to that.

"Tommy and Maria found me; they decided to bring me here so I had a home."

"Cool, that's cool. Ready to start training?"

Once they saw Y/n nod, they took her to get her weapons and a horse. Everyone in Jackson had a horse assigned to them. Along the way, Dina and Jesse talked about themselves and their roles around the town. They explained a few things about patrols and some of the rules that Tommy and Maria had set in place.

She heard the words, but all Y/n could focus on was Dina.

She had spent many hours training with Dina and Jesse until she could finally go home to rest. She had gotten ready for bed and was soon lying down to write in her journal that she had started. To keep all her thoughts and stories organized, she decided to write them down. Since she had decided to start a whole new life, she had to find a place to remember her last one.

Her best idea was journaling. She just had to hide it well.

As she wrote about her newest feelings, her parents came to mind once again. They were always so proud of her; they were her biggest supporters. If they saw her now, they would be cheering twice as hard; they would encourage her to act on her feelings for Dina, but something in her told her otherwise. She was going to wait for the right moment.

She had to learn more about her. She didn't want to risk scaring her off.

She would have to talk to Cat and learn more about her; she'd have to spend time with Dina too. Luckily for her, she can do that with training. She just had to strike up a conversation; that shouldn't be too hard.

"Hey, kid! You home?" She heard a man's voice speak, pulling her out of her thoughts. She shut the journal, leaving her thoughts incomplete, and hid them away. "I just thought I'd check in with you and see how you're doing." It was Tommy. He walked into the bedroom and smiled at the girl, whom he now considered his daughter. "I heard your first day of training was a success. What did you think of Dina and Jesse?" He asked, soon pulling up a chair and sitting down to chat with her.

"They're cool and very nice people." She replied with a smile at the mention of Dina's name. "So, am I going on patrols with them or Cat?" She curiously asked.

"We're not sure yet, but I'm thinking we're just going to put you with Dina and Jesse with Cat." That wasn't something she expected to hear, but she didn't hate it. It sounded like a decent plan to her. She felt that she could get along great with Dina. She could get along with Jesse too; he seemed nice and everything. "Do you want to be partnered up with Cat? I can talk it over with Maria."

"No, it's fine! I was just wondering." She was quick to explain herself. She saw the suspicious look on Tommy's face; he was suspicious of the way she reacted. He was going to keep a close watch on this.

He'd seen stuff like this before; all the signs were visible to him. "Alright, then I'll talk it over with Dina tomorrow." He cleared his throat as he stood up, pushing the chair back toward Y/n's desk. "Get some rest; I'll be taking you with me to hunt tomorrow morning. We'll be up bright and early. Good night, kid."

The two exchanged a smile before Tommy left the room, shutting the door behind him. Once Y/n saw him leave the house, she pulled her journal out of its hiding spot to continue her thoughts. Now, she knew she would possibly be going on patrols with Dina. This was going to be her chance to get to know her.

She couldn't mess it up.

————————
brooke speaks!

i finished this so fast
and i don't know how.
anyway, i hope you
enjoyed and i would
like to thank shannon
for the giving me the
motivation to write
this, i love you! anyway,
i hope there's no mistakes!