USWNT Oneshots

Learning to Trust

Tobin's P.O.V.

Our small group ran through the deserted streets. "Come on!" Hope yelled. "There's an alleyway up ahead! We can rest there for a little bit." we ran into the alleyway, but as soon as we stepped in, a figure ran out from behind some plywood. The person managed to give Alex a cut across the stomach before Hope knocked them out. She flipped the person over, and we saw that it was a girl, around fourteen or fifteen years old. She had black hair with red streaks falling down to her waist, tan skin, freckles, and soft pink lips. She was small and slim, and I immediately fell in love. "What do we do with her?" Pinoe said. "We take her with us." I said. "No." Hope said. "She'd just be another mouth to feed." "We can't leave her here, Hope!" I argued. "She'll be eaten! She's even younger than Moe! How would you feel knowing that you left such a young girl to die?" "She's right, Hope." Abby said. "They're coming!" Moe yelled from where she was standing lookout. we ran to the entrance of the alleyway to see a wave of zombies approaching. "Fine." Hope said. Abby picked the girl up, and we all ran for dear life. We managed to find shelter in a cave halfway up a cliff, where we knew the zombies couldn't get at us. We cooked our food over a fire and began eating, and I noticed that the girl was awake. I took a can of beans from the fire and brought them over to the girl. "Here." I said, holding them out to her. The girl looked at me suspiciously and said nothing. "They're not poisoned, I swear." I said. "Eat. You look like you need it." the girl took the can and started eating, still eyeing us suspiciously. "What's your name?" I asked. I got no answer. I shrugged, and rejoined my teammates at the fire. "What's her name?" Abby asked. "No idea." I said. "She's not speaking. We should give her knife back to her." "No." Hope said. "She'll kill us all. You saw what she did to Alex." "But what if she gets separated from us?" I argued. "She'll be dead meat!" "Fine." Hope said, handing me the girl's knife. I went over to her once again and gave her the knife. She snatched it from my grasp and belted it around her waist. Weeks passed, and we were still on the run. The girl had proved to be an excellent fighter, though she still never said a word. We started addressing her as "kid" or "kiddo." one night, as we were camping out on a bluff, I heard quiet crying coming from outside our little cave. I walked out to see what was wrong, and found the girl sitting on the edge of the bluff, her small body shaking with sobs. "Hey, what's wrong kid?" "Thalia." she said, her voice raspy. "What?" I asked. "Thalia." the girl repeated. "My name is Thalia Skywalker." "You can talk?" I asked. "Of course I can talk." the girl said. "Why didn't you?" I asked. "I didn't trust you." Thalia said. "Why not?" I asked. Thalia started tearing up again. "You don't have to tell me." I said hurriedly. "No." Thalia said. "I need to get this off my chest." she took a deep breath. "When this first started, my parents and I were driven out of our house by zombies." she said. "We found a group of people, and they took us in. We trusted them. They became our friends. But one night, the zombies were right outside the door of our shelter. The leaders of the group had a meeting, then they tied my mom and dad up and... and... and killed them. I was forced to watch as my parents were slaughtered like animals. And their bodies were thrown out to the zombies. They didn't even get a proper burial." Thalia paused to wipe her eyes, then continued. "That night, as I was lying in bed, I heard the leaders talking about me. They were going to do the same thing to me as they did to my parents. So I ran. I'd been living in that alleyway for three weeks with only my knife. I didn't want to go get food or water because I was scared that I would run into the group again. And that's why I attacked you guys. I thought you were them. I haven't spoken at all until tonight because I thought you might be like them. But you're not. You're kind to me. I know you wouldn't kill me unless I was bitten." I wrapped my arms around Thalia's small body. "Never." I whispered. "I'm so sorry that happened. How old are you?" "Fifteen." Thalia replied. "That was sick, what they did to your parents." I said. "Sick and twisted. I can't believe anyone would do that." "It's alright." Thalia said. "I miss them terribly, but I have a new family now." "Damn right you do." I said. Thalia looked down, fidgeting with her hands. "What?" I asked. "What is it?" "Tobin, can I tell you something?" Thalia asked. "Anything." I said. "I... I love you." Thalia said, and I could see her blush in the moonlight. "You've been so kind to me from the beginning." "Do you want to know why I've done that?" I asked. Thalia nodded. I leaned in and kissed her soft pink lips. "Because I love you too." I said.