Safe Haven

Those Who've Fallen

Night sets upon Missouri, and the group finds a house on the road suitable to stay the night in, a cozy two-story with plenty of space, untouched by the apocalypse.

Nathan sits upstairs polishing his new shotgun. Griffin, Valerie, Jillian, and Hunter relax in the living room, talking about the day.

"Do you think Nathan's doing alright?" Jillian asks them, petting Hunter while he lays in her lap.

"Alright? I'm not doing alright. None of us are doing alright. Valerie didn't even know Chloe, yet even she feels awful about it," Griffin says.

"It's true, I've been traveling with Bradley far longer than I even knew Chloe, yet somehow I'm more saddened by her death than I am Bradley and Rob's," Valerie exclaims. "She was such a ray of sunshine, and I didn't realize it until we lost her."

"She was, she was great," Jillian's eyes become watery. "I just hope Nathan doesn't lose his marbles, he's a great man, and I don't want to lose him too."

"He's strong, Jillian," Valerie assures her. "He'll do just fine."

"I don't think so," Jillian says, "The way he just walked up and killed Xander, it was brutal. He didn't have to, I mean, Xander didn't mean for Chloe to die. He even sent his men out to help bury her, and now they're all dead too. We had no reason to go back into that house. We all knew Rob was gone."

"Xander got what was coming to him. If he didn't do it, I would've done it myself," Griffin says.

"Regardless," Jillian continues, "I don't think Nathan is going to come back from this, and it scares me deeply."

"I think it's for the better," Griffin suggests. "There's no more room for 'nice' in this world. It's the good people that die first. He's tougher now than he ever was before."

"I don't want him to lose his morality, it's what made him who he is," Jillian cries. Hunter whimpers and snuggles closer to her stomach.

"I think we should just call it a night. Let's get some rest now, Fairview is less than a few hours away. Sooner we're asleep, sooner we're safe," Valerie says. Griffin and Jillian agree, and they try to get some sleep.

Upstairs, Nathan sits in a corner, talking to himself.

"You did your best, Nathan. You protected me. You're the reason I was happy all the time. What happened isn't your fault," Chloe says.

"I could've been stronger. I could've killed Xander when I had the chance. I could've volunteered for the game or something, you'd still be here if I had," Nathan grabs the shotgun and plays around with it.

"You couldn't have known any of this would happen, but please, don't let my death be in vain. Make it to Fairview, have that baby with Jillian. You'll make an excellent father if you treat your child even half as good as you treated me," Chloe says.

"I can't be a father, I can't raise a child in this world," he cries.

"Really? My children grew up pretty strong. You've made me more proud after the apocalypse than I could've ever imagined. Your sister was always your first priority, now turn that love and dedication towards your beautiful girlfriend and your child. I know you'll do just fine," James says.

"I-I will, dad. Thank you, so much. I love you guys," Nathan replies.

"We love you too, Nathan." They say. Nathan heads downstairs to find the rest of his group asleep. He kisses Jillian's forehead before laying down on a couch.