IVORY | Carl Grimes

twenty-three - antithesis ;

a trance-like state encapsulated saskia as she danced among the trees lining the forest. her mind found solace in the clouds as her feet remained locked on the unforgiving earth. a flicker of hope was quickly plundered in her soul as the realization that the noise was emitting from near alexandria.

saskia garnered a deep breath that fought its existence as it shakily entered through her trembling lips. her escape to hide among the undead had become a wet blanket. once embraced like an old friend, it now had lost its charm. before, she had nobody that would be left behind but now, the ache of missing her family spread fervently across her heart and weighed her down. amidst the gray clouds, saskia found a sense of formidable clarity.

saskia figured that her location was closer to alexandria than it was to her group and the urge to steal away back to sawyer was growing — to grab him and run. however, she knew that the guilt of leaving so many others that had acquired a piece of her heart would eat her away if she chose to do so.

she squinted under the sun's harsh glare as she noticed a walker drawing near. saskia quickly expelled the arrow tethered to her bow and let it fly into the rotten head of a particularly large walker. after retrieving her arrow, she picked up her pace in the first direction that seemed appealing in order to find somebody, anybody.

her time in the forest had become a confusing yet inevitable game of hide and seek. saskia was unsure of if she was the one hiding out or seeking the others, but it did little to matter. either way, it was a game she did not want to play.

sawyer had once titled her as the queen of hide and seek and as a child. saskia had once readily embraced this claim but now, she realized what came with it. queen's were powerful and strategic. in a game of chess, they could do most anything. although, this meant that they held the biggest target on their back. she could turn any way that she wanted to, but there it still was, painted in red, and saskia could not shake it off as she winded in between trees and foliage that the woods exposed her to.

the constant of the horn had begun to grow rather unfortunate to listen to and as saskia sighed, she looked up to the sky as she rolled her shoulders backwards. she did not feel like a queen. all directions were unclear and although they were all available, all it proved to do was further the festering of the frustration in her system.

suddenly, a new noise captivated saskia's attention. the static emitted from her radio derived a sigh of relief. if only she had recalled the device earlier. picking it up and bringing it closer to her ear as she backed up against a tree, her eyes whipped around wildly to make sure she missed nothing in her view.

"tobin, it's not stopping!" rick's voice powered over the line of communication, and saskia quickly fumbled the radio in her bloody hands as she cranked down the volume to soften the thundering commands, "light it up! you hear me!"