Allison Owen was 13 when she had no choice but to take a desperate deal with the Governor, a choice she made for the safety of her friends. Three years later, still haunted by those memories, she finds herself on the run, seeking refuge within the w...
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~Allison's POV~
As we stepped into the showers, we were greeted by a thick stench of mildew. The air was heavy, with a warm dampness that made our clothes cling to our already sweating bodies. I scanned the room, finding cracked and chipped tiles, now covered in grime and neglect. The tiling on the wall had come loose, leaving sharp edging around each hole. Even the cellar at Woodbury was never this suffocating. Nina slammed the door behind us, sending echoing vibrations through the bars on the windows, leaving a quiet hum as the silence returned once more.
"The smell alone is making my eyes water," Jackson grunted, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he scanned the row of stalls, picking the first one to step into.
I responded with a small laugh, it's a though he read my mind. The smell was awful, but it was hard to tell where the smell of the room began, and that of our own bodies ended. Running water wasn't a luxury commonly found in this day and age. We were lucky enough to find a dirty creek when we first left Woodbury, but that hadn't done much justice to the smell.
"I'll take anything over a year's worth of crap caked on my skin," Nina replied, her voice echoing slightly as she stripped off her clothes and hid behind a tattered curtain. She let out a soft yelp as the water hit her skin "Cold or not this feels amazing," she giggled behind the curtain
Taking this as my opportunity, I slipped off my shoes and entered the small stall at the end of the row. The curtain had been partially torn off the pole, but it still provided enough privacy. The water that came out the faucet was tinted brown with rust, only clearing up after running for a couple seconds. I slipped off the rest of my clothes and slowly slid under the water, gasping as the ice-cold water made its way down my back. I tilted my head back and allowed the water to cover my face, feeling both relief and discomfort. It wasn't perfect -- far from it -- but it was better than nothing.
Nina sighed, leaning her head against the metal wall of the stall. "Even with the water being so cold, I can't put into words how much I missed this," she spoke softly, peaking over the top of the stall in my direction.
Jackson, still laughing to himself over Nina's yelp when the water hit her, nodded in our direction. "I was more of a bath guy," over the splashing of water I could hear him choking back a laugh.
"A bath Jackson, seriously?" Nina chuckled, snapping her attention over to him. He only shrugged in return, giving us a wide smile before turning back to his shower. There was a pause, only the sound of falling water to break the silence. Then Nina spoke again, her voice breaking slightly as she began. "I know we're looking at the bright side of things right now, but I'm worried about my leg.," She winced as she peeled off the dirty bandage.
Jackson, who had turned off his shower and retrieved a towel, peeked behind her curtain and gently grabbed her leg to look it over. "You should have let me do something sooner, this looks like it's starting to get infected." Jackson sounded stern, which was a side of him we rarely got to see. Even with the virus, Woodbury, and everything else we've been through, he never lost that goofy personality.
