The End is Near

Chapter Twelve

              ~Cassie's POV~
     I've been with my new group for two weeks now, and I've had to teach them a lot. They don't keep watch at night, they don't keep their guard up, and they are too dependent on Walter, when he himself doesn't know what he's doing. It's like I'm on my own again, but this time I have to watch after more people. I hate to admit it, but they are all like Julia, they always turn to me for help. They've all learned that I'm not a warm person, though Cody still persists in getting me happy. He hasn't gotten it in his head that I don't want to be happy. Happiness makes you vulnerable, weak, it's better to have no emotions.

     We haven't made it very far from the woods by the prison, everyone is too slow, or complains too much about being tired. Walter isn't hard enough on them, he lets them stop whenever they want to, even if they've just barely left for the day. I've had to hide my annoyance every time, I can't risk being thrown out on my own again.

      I wake up to Cody shaking me. I shake my head, trying to wake up and look around, everyone is awake and looking at me. We all climb down the tree we were in and huddle together on the ground. The one thing I do make sure of every night, is that we find a good place to stay for the night, and it's in the trees every night.
     "So what's the plan Cassie?" Cody asks, leaning towards me. I think for a minute, looking around. We only just passed the town I first ran into Walter in, and I don't know what they plan to do. I sigh, racking my brain for anything that could help us.
"Walter?" He looks at me. "You're going somewhere, right? You just came here for more supplies?" He nods. "Where were you going?" 
"We were heading for California, trying to find a secluded place on the beach that we could live." I nod, thinking about that idea, it's not actually a bad idea, but there are too many flaws.

     "That could  be a good idea, but you'd be trapped with only one way to get out, the ocean. The smartest thing to do would be to find a boat, something that could hold all of us comfortably, like a yacht. We'd be able to live there for a long time, with fresh water and plenty of food. If we could find one that isn't full of the infected, I know how to get us out to sea, we'd be safe for a really long time." They all stare at me in awe. "What?" I ask, confused.

     "How do you know so much about boats." 

     "Oh, my dad loved boating. He would always take me along with him and he'd teach me how boats worked." Cody's face falls in sympathy. I look at him, confused, then realization hits me. He must think I'm talking about my "dead" parents. I hold in the laugh that wants to escape me. I never told him that I was just messing with him. I can't believe he actually believed me when I told that story. It didn't even sound believable to me, and I'm the one that made it up. He must really be gullible, I'll have to help him with that. A gullible person is a dangerous person. "So what do you guys think? Should we go?" I look to Walter for the answer, knowing he makes the final decision. He takes a minute to think, then looks back to me.

     "Lets go, I think it's a good idea." I nod, then look to the whole group.

     "Ok, here's the plan. We all stay together, if anyone gets separated, find somewhere safe until we can find each other, always have your weapon ready, you could be attacked at any time. Never go off on your own, that's how you get killed." I swallow the lump that forms in my throat at those words. "It is going to take too long to walk, so we need to find some cars or one big enough to carry all of us. Stay behind me, I'll watch what's ahead of us. We need to find a safe way to get around the horde, so until we are safely around it and far away, keep behind me and stay close. Got it?" Everyone nods and I go to walk away, but Walter stops me.

     "Hey, Cassie, can I talk to you before we leave?" I look at him, confused.

     "Um, sure, here follow me." I lead him away from the group and behind a group of trees. "What did you want to talk about?"

     "Your leadership skills. You are extremely smart and are leading this group better than I ever could have. I want you to replace me as leader. You'd protect us better than I could." I stare at him with wide eyes.

     "What? You want me to become leader? But I'm so young, you're smarter than me."

     "And you have way more experience than me in this world. You were alone for weeks and you survived, you lived, then you come and save my group from undeniable death. You are more fit for this than me, please, and we both know it, I'm not a good leader, so please just do it. I want my family to survive and I want you to be a part of this family. Ok?" I stare at him for a minute, eyes still wide, then I nod.

     "Ok, I'll do it." Relief floods his eyes and he sighs, smiling.

     "Thank you. You are much more fit for this job than I am, no matter the age." I just nod and take a deep breath.

     "You don't smile, do you?" I look up at him in surprise.

     "I haven't smiled since I had to kill Julia, my best friend, because she was bit." Realization dawns on his face.

     "She was the one you were travelling with?" I just nod, looking down.

     "Please don't tell anyone, I don't want anyone knowing until I want them to know." He nods, smiling.

     "I won't tell anyone. But, just so you know, you'd look even prettier than you do know if you would smile, instead of smirking all the time." I raise an eyebrow at him and he nods. "Yes, I've noticed the smirking. I'm an observant person. Now, try smiling. You don't have to smile around anyone else, but I want to see it. Seeing that smirk all the time is going to make me think you're an arrogant person and I know you're not." He motions with his hand for me to smile. I take a deep breath and force myself to smile up at him. He smiles back. "See, it makes you look so much more approachable, even when it's forced." I roll my eyes. "You're not going to be sad forever, you know." I look up at him, my heart heavy.

     "How do you know?" I ask, quietly. He smiles sympathetically at me.

     "Because I went through what you're going through right now and I made it through, and I'm happy." My eyes widen. He doesn't say anything more, just leads me back to the group. I wipe the frown off my face as the group comes into view. Cody looks at me in confusion when he sees us, I just shake my head at him. Walter gets everyone into a circle and motions for me to stand by him. "I'm guessing everyone is confused as to what I was talking to Cassie about, so I might as well tell you now. I asked Cassie to replace me as leader." Everyone gasps and stares at him with wide eyes. "Don't look at me like that. She is much more capable in leading this group than I am and everyone knows it. You all follow her without question, you never did that with me." Cody chuckles.

     "That's because Cassie's plans are actually good. We always had questions about your plans and we don't with Cassie's." Walter nods.

     "And that's exactly why Cassie would be a better leader than I ever will be. She was on her own for weeks and she was perfectly fine. We were in a group and we struggled. She would help us stay alive and well, and happy. Is everyone ok with my decision?" Everyone nods immediately and Walter nods, looking at me.

     "I will do everything I can to keep you guys alive and happy, ok? I know I'm younger than most of you, but that doesn't mean I won't be a good leader. Some of you may think I'm too naïve to lead, but I've been through some things that you wouldn't believe, I'm smarter than you may think." I look up at the sun. "We have to go, it will be midday soon and we need to find cars before it gets too hot, that's when the walkers are the most active. Lets go." I pull out my bow and load it with an arrow, then walk passed everyone to the front and look around cautiously. When I find no threat, I lead my group out of the cover of the trees and start walking back towards the town. Here's the start of a new journey.