The Ruins Part 2 (Sequel to The Ruins)

Chapter 1

"Mal?"

There was a heavy hand on her shoulder, and Mal instinctively flinched away from the contact, fear seizing up in her chest and choking her.

"Sorry. I was just..." Vix pulled her hand back and looked at Mal, searching for an explanation, "I was just checking to see if you wanted me to take the first watch. I haven't seen you sleep in the last two days."

Mal took control of her breathing, willing herself to calm down. It was a touch on the shoulder for God's sake. It's her best friend of the RK's. She shouldn't be jumping out of her skin like that. Not after Charlie's been gone. However, she notices the nightmares didn't stop, they've gotten worse. She forced herself to meet Vix's eyes. "I've got it."

Vix leaned back against the railing that views the midnight sky of the northwest gates where it's abandon skeleton cars, the green covered roads, and the wall of the Tradepost. "You know," she said, ignoring Mal's annoyed glare in her direction, "You're not going to be helping anyone if you fall asleep on watch because you tried to tough it out."

Mal gritted her teeth and stared straight ahead, wondering if there was a way to move herself away from Vix so that they weren't touching without the other woman noticing. "I'm not tryin' to tough it out." She shifted awkwardly.

Vix noticed the way Mal seemed exceedingly uncomfortable with being so close and thankfully took the hint, scooting further away so that they were no longer touching. "What're you doing staying up every night, then?"

Mal turned away and bit her lip, internally debating on whether or not she should tell Vix to go to her room and sleep for the night. Not the real reason, but the surface one. The easy version. The one she gave to the rest of the friends when they caught her acting strangely the past two days.

"Mal?"

"I can't sleep."

She could feel Vix's eyes on her, still searching. It felt invasive, made Mal want to crawl out of her skin.

"Why not?"

Mal's patience wore out. "I just can't. It's not important why, maybe because the Saviors haven't found much where the Claimers and Shakespearians are and Negan hasn't come back in four weeks. But since I can't, I may as well do something useful and let other people get some rest."

Vix stared at her for a long second and then nodded and turned her gaze away from Mal, seeming to sense that she wasn't going to get anything more out of her. "Alright. Goodnight." She left the guard tower.

She stayed silently, looking out into the road, watchful and calm.

It had been nearly three months since the destruction of the KillGames. The KillGames was a terrible pit where kids are thrown in to fend of Infected with barely a stable weapon. Charlie was the founder of the games along with the rapist rats Claimers and Glory - or what Negan calls them Shakespearians from the language they use.

Before Mal joined the Saviors she was in the attack in Farmington and met Negan, the used to Bounty Hunter and the leader of the Sanctuary. She had trouble of trusting the guy. He was rash- vulgar is the word, speak anything that came in his head and mouth, and amusing most dirty humor, she eventually allied with him. She trusted him, even she told him the deepest darkest secret that she kept so long from her friends. He didn't pity her, only console her, is so nice to her. She does think about telling it to someone else. Alec could be one but her friends, she wasn't sure what their reaction will be and after.

Three damn months it's been, and Mal is barely sleeping anymore. The one time she'd had to, when her body had been so weary and exhausted that it had just given up, she'd been woken up by nightmares, memories of what had happened playing on repeat in her head for her to experience again and again. Because apparently, once wasn't enough.

No one else in her group had understood why she had wanted to go back to kill them all when she was injured. Even she hasn't told Negan more. The Claimers were involved, not much but it took all too much of her. It's a little revenge, she needs it since Negan took the hold of Charlie. So she waits until Negan gives her the clear and finally kill the Claimers once and for all.

So she stayed up until she couldn't anymore, keeping vigilant watch over her group and avoiding her subconscious like a herd of Infected in the woods.