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THAT DAY FELT STRANGE. She had no obligations, and nothing of importance that she had been tasked to do. She paced around the church a dozen times, and when she got bored of that, she cracked open a book.
After reading two hundred pages, she felt her find turning to mush, forgetting the world around her. Now, she sat with Judith in her arms, rocking the baby back and forth for her own entertainment. But, even that couldn't keep Jules still forever.
She was thankful when both Rick and Scout walked back inside of the large church doors, having been outside since the sun came back up. Rick smiled gratefully at Jules as she handed his baby over to him, though the smile hadn't quite reached his eyes. She didn't have to pry to know why it didn't.
She thought for a moment before she would get up to talk to Scout. She wasn't sure if it was one sided or not, but lately she felt as though conversations didn't flow so easily between the two of them anymore. Not since the tunnel when they reunited with Maggie.
Maybe it was because of everything going on, or something she didn't want to admit, but she didn't like it. She could only hope they would go back to normal soon.
Ignoring her worries, Juliette moved to where the other boy was, leaning over his bag, shuffling around inside of it with his hands. "Hey," she voiced as soon as she grew close, not wanting to startle him. "What were you doing with Rick?"
He turned, an uneven smile on his lips. "Finally learned how to properly use a gun. Both big and small. Apparently I've got a knack when it comes to using long-distance ones. Rick said I'm a fast learner."
Humming, Jules sat next to his bag on the long bench. "I guess that's good. I just hope none of us will have to use any of our weapons for a while."
Scout shrugged his shoulders as he zipped up the bag, before lifting it and putting it on the ground, taking its spot on the pew. "I was scared shitless last night. Rick handed me a gun I've never even seen before. I really didn't want to use it. I got lucky, though."
Jules nodded in agreement, thinking back to just the night before when she, too, was scared for her life, wondering what she would have to do to keep living for another day. "If you had to . . would you kill someone?" The question had clearly caught the boy off guard, his head whipping around to look at her with raised eyebrows. "Sorry—That's a really dark question and it's totally out of the blue—"
"If it came down to it, I guess I'd have to, right?" he cut her off, looking away as he sucked in a short breath. "Honestly, I can't even imagine myself pulling the trigger on someone. I used to play hockey for my high school, you know? And now the possibility of having to kill someone for the greater good is constantly lurking."
