(Temp hiatus) Observe (the walking dead)

Boredom, mostly

      

   Ava never was one to involve herself with people. Even before the world went to shit, she was always reserved. She kept to herself and never quite went out of her comfort zone.

   She often daydreamed about the people she would observe, creating little stories and lives for everyone she watched from afar. She dreamed about their careers, what they'd do for fun with their friends, their family, and so on.

   What she didn't imagine though, was that the people she had been watching had caught on a while ago, and they weren't feeling very friendly.

   Ava hears a crunch behind her, the sound of twigs and such crackling beneath a foot. Before she can turn around, something cold and thin is pressed to her throat.

   "Who are you?" The southern voice seethed in Ava's ear, demanding answers.

   But the girl was frozen in fear, eyes wide and chest tightening. When she doesn't answer, the man gets more aggressive. "I asked you a question!" He barked, pressing the knife a little harder to her throat.

   But Ava didn't answer, she couldn't. She felt the panic overwhelm her body, oxygen restricting in her lungs as she holds her breath and squeezes her eyes shut.

   "Rick, let her go, man. She's a kid." Another voice approaches.

   "A kid that's stalking us, I'm not taking any chances. We don't know who she's with." The southern voice, now known as Rick, speaks up.

   "Ava," she whispers, feeling tears slip down her cheeks. She notes the ache in her throat from speaking, having been a while since she did.

"Well, Ava, who are you with?" Rick interrogates her, pulling her around to face him as he holds the point of the knife to her throat.

   "Alone." She hoarsely whispers, watching with wide eyes and a slack jaw as the man standing before her looks at her with sinister eyes. This is it, she thinks to herself, this is how I'll die.

   She finally pulls her attention to the apologetic looking man behind this Rick guy, a young Asian man with a soft expression.

   "What kind of weapons do you have on you? Pull 'em out, nice and slow." Rick demands, sheathing his knife but keeping his other hand tense on his gun holster.

   She reaches into the back pocket of her baggy jeans, pulling out a small pocket knife and unholsters the axe that's strapped into the right side of her belt. She hands it to Rick with a shaky hand and sticks both her hands in the air in surrender.

   "Pat her down, make sure she doesn't have anything else." Rick demands, looking behind the girl. She didn't know what he was looking at before another person begins checking her sides and legs for anything else. She watches as Rick rummages through her bag that was lying on the dirty forest ground.

   When he finds nothing of value or importance, he stands back up and places his hands on his hips before looking around, on edge. "Why were you watchin' us?" He questions, stepping towards her.

   "Boredom, mostly. I'm sorry, sir. I'll— I'll leave you all alone. Please, just let me go." She pleads, eyes glossed over.

   Rick looks down, shaking his head. "Nah. I don't think I can do that." He says, squinting as he looks back up at her. He nods his head to the side, signaling the person behind her.

   The mystery person roughly grabs her arms out of the air, twisting them behind her. She tries to pull out of their grasp as her breathing quickens in panic. Before she knows it, she promptly faints, head hitting a thick tree root.