𝐉𝐔𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓|| 𝐓𝐖𝐃 ON HOLD

𝐀𝐧 𝐎𝐝𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐨 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐀 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐦[𝟕]

Eliana's feet carried her miles away from the wall, all she wanted to do was find her brother. She couldn't wait in those four walls, her head and heart hurt too much, all she hoped was that she would find him. After all, there would be no Eliana McNamara without Christian Martian.

So as Eliana walked through the woods, her eyes and brain hyper fixated on the world around her, she couldn't help but think about Glenn, Abraham, Sasha and her father. Maybe she would find them all, if she was able to power through it.

Eliana's hand rested on her gun, the feeling of the sun beating on her rather dry skin irratating her to no end. She walked through the woods with a knife in her hand, her feet aching slightly as followed the tracks. Her mind slowly started to go somewhere else, and quickly was her thoughts taken over by a memory.

Ten year old Eliana walked down a small dirt path, on her way to an abandoned barn she usually hid in. Her hair tied up into a tight ponytail, her pale face beginning to bruise lightly after an argument with her grandmother. Tears slipped from those pretty brown eyes as she stumbled over rocks and logs, her heart aching.

She hated being hurt, she knew her grandparents meant well. They were raised in a time where it was okay to hit their kids, but she sometimes wishes they were loving. She also wished she either had a father or brother to protect her from them. It wasn't surprising to her that her mother didn't date, her parents would just disregard them.

Eliana walked through the doors of her barn, the hay barrel she bought from the farm a few miles down the road was all set up. The little girl walked over to the hay barrel, her tired body slumping on top of it. She drags a soft and plush blanket she stole from her grandparents room across her legs as she took off her jean jacket—that was five adult sizes too big for her—and tucked it under her aching head.

That girl laid in her makeshift bed, staring out the old barn windows. Her eyes watered as she thought of her grandparents, her abusive and toxic grandparents. The world felt like it would just continue get horrible, maybe she wouldn't even make it to her thirteenth birthday. Unless some miracle happened, but that wasn't pos-

A gun shot rang through the barn, causing the girl to push off the bed quickly and duck behind the barrel of hay. Her head snaps around, her eyes scanning the area. The sounds of shouts and gunshots echo through the woods. It wasn't until she heard a scream that she decided to get off the ground, running outside of the barn.

Eliana's eyes fell onto a boy who was cowering beneath a tall man, his eyes growing with hatred as he stared at the boy. The boy wasn't more than three years older than her, his head and arm were bleeding. His hair shaven and body oddly scrawny.

"You little brat! I swear, if you come on my land ever again I won't be afriad to shoot you in the heart." The man continues to berate the teen, whose head nodded fervently. Eliana gritted her teeth, her tongue slipping between the gap a baby tooth had fallen out of a few hours ago after the punch.

That little girl stepped forward, a baseball bat in her tiny arms as she stalked forward. "Hey!" She shouted, earning both pairs of eyes on her small bruised frame. "Pick on someone your own size, asshole." The look she had would normally make people laugh at her, but as she spoke blood was spit out of her mouth, making her look tougher than she was.

The man froze, his mouth slacked as he looked between the thirteen year old and ten year old. He scoffed, "Fuck this shit," he glared at the boy before stalking off.

Eliana watched the man as he walked away, a wicked smile on her lips. "Yeah, run off you little bitch," she tilted her head down and spat blood onto the grass below.