Nothing's Ever Simple Anymore

Maisie's Daisy

Maisie walked gingerly across the old, creaky wooden floor, wrapping her rather small hand around the scratched up door knob. "Where are you going?" I familiar voice nagged from behind. Sighing, well more like groaning, Maisie turned around and looked up at her older sister. "You're not going outside?" Nova questioned, but both girls knew it was more of a statement than anything. "I just want some fresh air, I'm only going just out front." Maisie said softly, shrugging as she crossed her arms. "No. You know better than to go outside alone, it's dangerous." Nova said sternly, shaking her head. Maisie opened her mouth to argue, but Evie cut her off. "Oh, c'mon Nova. We scoped out the area three times this morning, plus Bash and Niko are out there. They won't let anything happen to her. Besides, it's just right out front, I'll even go with her to make sure she's safe." Evie suggested, earning a grin from Maisie. "Pleeeaaase Nova." Maisie pouted. Nova rolled her eyes and huffed, not feeling like arguing. "Fine. But if anything happens to my little sister, it's on you." Nova warned, pointing a finger in Evie's face. "Okay. And if you put your finger in my face again, what happens is on you." Evie smirked, grabbing her gun and heading outside with Maisie, hearing Nova scoff as the door shut behind them.

"Thanks, Evie." Maisie smiled sweetly, breathing in the fresh air. "No problem." Evie mumbled, keeping an eye on their surroundings. She may hate Nova, but she would never want anything to happen to Maisie. The two walked around the small perimeter that was deemed safe, staying silent as the soft breeze blew against them. "What's it like... out there, I mean." Maisie spoke up softly, pushing her hair behind her ears. Biting her lip, Evie hesitated a bit before speaking. "It's bad, you know. I mean there's dead people walking around, people that actually used to be people. People that didn't die from natural causes but from other people that are supposed to be dead. It's depressing, when we go on runs, Rori and I. You see all these houses and buildings that're just... destroyed. A-and you don't see animals anymore; you don't see squirrels running around. You don't even hear the birds chirping. All the color is gone, really. I mean everything's either charred or stained with blood. When you see houses you can't help but think; Who lived there, what happened to them? I mean, we know what happened to them but at the same time we don't. And the smell, if you're not smelling rotting corpses then it's burnt rubble. It can get to you, you know? It seems as if even Mother Nature is dead." She stayed quiet a moment before turning to look at Maisie, who was biting her lip and looking down.  

"Do you think anyone else is still alive?" Maisie asked softly. "Yeah, I do. I mean if we survived, I'm sure there's some others out there who did too." Evie mumbled, shrugging. "But what if there's not? I mean, look at the world. There's nothing left-" Maisie began, but Evie was quick to cut her off. "We don't know that, not for sure..." She sighed, running a hand through her hair before continuing. "You can't give up hope, Maisie." Maisie looked up at Evie briefly, shaking her head. "And why not? There's no life left in the world- I mean yeah, we're alive... but for how long? We're all going to die eventually, and you know it." Maisie argued. Evie just stared straight ahead, her lips pursed and jaw clenched. "No. You can't think like that. Unless you're dead, then you don't give up. I don't care if you're on your deathbed right now, you fight- and you fight till your death. You win some and you lose some..." Evie began, her voice stern. "Really? What if you're bitten, what can you possibly do then?" Maisie butt in, earning a quick, sharp reply from Evie. "You fight them off, you distract them so that the rest of your group can get away. I may sound a bit morbid right now, but you've got to understand that this is how we survive now. This is how we win, how we take our homes back. No, it won't be the same, it won't ever be the same, but everything changes eventually right? Whether you like it or not. Our friends and families are gone, and that's hard to deal with sometimes, but do you really think they'd want us to give up? To just lay down and die? We've been through too much to give up now. It's a dangerous journey, but one day we will take this world back from the dead.  This will all be worth it in the end. Yeah, it's gonna definitely take some time, and it's gonna be tough, but as Rori said to me once, nothing's ever simple anymore... Let's go inside." Evie's expression was blank as far as Maisie could tell. Evie started walking back towards their 'home', her strides quick and profound. Sighing, Maisie began to follow, but a little flash of bright yellow caught her eye. Hidden behind a bush was a beautiful, perfect daisy. 

Maisie pushed the bush out of the way, looking down at the small flower. A smile tugged at her lips, turning into a grin. She bent down and gently ghosted over the delicate white petals. Maisie began to really think about everything that Evie had said, realizing that there was still hope. Still smiling, Maisie stood up and made her way to Evie, who was waiting by the front door.

***Hey guys! Sorry this chapter was so short but I'm having some writers block and I really wanted to give you guys something. You've all waited so long and stuck with me even though I wasn't updating, and I appreciate that so much, thank you! So here's a little something.***