Torn Apart • TWD

Chapter 33 - not so civil after all

This is not what Tessa was expecting; she was thinking maybe it was a movie night or an adult's boring party with drinks she couldn't have and painfully dull conversations, but certainly not this.

The sky is dark but there are fires lit as people climb onto the bleachers, stepping from each wooden bench to a higher one. Abigail and Edward steer the girl away from the fires, along with keeping her back from the section of blackness with no light set up to brighten.

They are in a large warehouse with sand layering the concrete under their feet and discarded items shoved into the corners of the four walls, boxes and broken chairs which no one knew what to do with.

Abigail has both her hands on Tessa's shoulders to keep her close while her husband has one hand on each of them, his fingers pinching the back of the girl's shirt with an arm wrapped around Abby as he guides the two to stand next to the bleachers where others have also opted to stand instead of engaging in the pushing fight to find a nice spot to sit going on in the bleachers.

People are already cheering in anticipation, plus with songs blaring from speakerphones, it all hurts the child's head so much she just wants to run back to the couple's house and bury her head under a pillow. Sounds of so many people screaming and music isn't something she hears in the forest and she isn't quite sure how to react.

The child flinches whenever a random person's arm would brush up against her own, there are so many people that it doesn't feel right. It feels so incredibly unnatural and she doesn't feel safe, she feels exposed in a way never felt before.

They are everywhere. So many people. Elderly, adults, teens and kids all together, if she had to guess there are around seventy people excitedly buzzing around, interacting without a care in the world, screeching with happiness without a single thought as to what that noise could attract.

She focuses on Abigail's hands which are softly gripping her shoulders. She feels the weight and pressure, liking when the woman occasionally waggles her finger to rub against the girl's skin whenever she feels her tense beneath her.

Scanning the place and truly seeing everyone around her has left Tessa uncomfortable, so she settles on staring at a certain spot, a place that intrigues her; the dark section between the two bleachers that she has caught so many staring at with smiles on their faces, waiting for something to happen.

She has also caught sight of the Governor entering with Andrea, who is looking around the same as she was when she first entered, but Abby and Edward had stood still with her so she could examine the building while the Governor is hurrying Andrea along with a hand on her elbow to keep her moving.

"Vega!" The man is making his way to her as he shouts over the excited crowd, dodging past people to get to them. "I'm glad you could make it," he smiles which she makes herself return, though it looks more like a grimace when a sudden high-pitched shriek coming from a couple of teenagers reaches her ears.

"Hey, are you feeling ok?" Andrea asks, curious as to why the girl is here after the day she's had.

"Yeah," she mutters, slightly leaning back into Abby's round stomach. The woman had loaded her with medicine before leaving, dulling the pain in her wrist enough for it to be manageable.

"Would you like to come sit with us?" The Governor nods to the bleachers where he was originally going, and though it was a question, it felt like a command she wasn't allowed to refuse.

When she doesn't answer, he takes it upon himself to put a hand on her arm and guide her the same way he was Andrea, and when the couple tries to follow he puts a hand up to stop them, "No no, Abigail. I won't make you climb up all those stairs." The woman seems hesitant to stay behind, but Edward pulls her back to where they were originally standing and lets the Governor walk off with the child.