The Ruins Part 2 (Sequel to The Ruins)

Chapter 6

Mal woke up early the next morning to sunlight streaming into her room, the snow is coming down softly than hard, patches of glistening white covering the walls of the place, and fogging the window. She'd slept mostly through the night, she realized. The nightmares had still shown up, but, thankfully, she'd stayed asleep, and even if it had been a bit of a restless slumber, she still felt much better than she had the day before. The combination of a night's rest, finding the places where the Shakespearians and the Claimers are supposedly are, and, oh yeah, opening up to Negan again, seemed to have done the trick, because her body felt looser and less tense, her thoughts less loud and violent.

She lingered in her spot on the bed for a bit, mulling over what had happened the night before. It wasn't like her at all to just open up to someone like that, much less spoke more openly about her past. She hadn't planned to, but the clawing in her chest had been unbearable and when Negan had kept pressing, she just kind of...spilled. Knowing with what she said before Negan believed her so maybe it gave her this confidence.

She'd needed to say it, she knew that. Communication had never been one of her strong suits, even as a child, but she knew that keeping things like this bottled up didn't usually work out too well. It hadn't with her and her friends, certainly. But she'd never felt like this before, so vulnerable and scared, and she'd just needed to get it off her chest. It was a blessing that Negan was the one to hear more and never show any pity for her, only his condolence.

Now that it was out in the open, and that Negan had offered to...to talk to him, to be there for her...something in her twinged painfully at the idea of the man leaving so soon. She wasn't sure if she was going to take Negan up on his offer, but if she did, if she woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat again and needed to let some of it out...it was just too bad that the person she'd spilled her secrets and trusted too was leaving into war and she may not or other might not make it. That's how war goes.

She's about to change when Vix comes back from her sleepover.

"We're preparing for leaving," she said. "The kids will be staying with Sheree in here once we're back." Sheree had been so helpful when Mal became friends with her back in the Sanctuary. She loved the kids and they did some rambunctious things behind her back.

She changed into a new pair of jeans as Vix braids her hair into a high braid ponytail. "You ready for this?"

"I am, but we never know what's the cost."

She shrugs. "I guess. I've never been to one. Always avoiding them."

Mal finds in the closet a brown jacket with a white soft lining to make her warm than cold. "You don't have to come." She appreciates Mal's concern.

"It's OK, Mal. I want to join in as well. Plus, Negan needs a person to go alone and head into the corridors of the Shakespearian place."

As Mal gets dressed warmly, packing her pack full of ammunition, knives, snares, food, canteen of water, slinging her machete and loading the magazine of her pistol, she slides her fingers through her thick dirty blonde hair. So long and thick it's getting heavier. Vix adjusts the string to a higher poundage and goes behind Mal with a hair tie on her hand.

"May I?" She asks. Mal approved. "Your hair so thick and long," She braids the top of her head at the start. Mal looks at the doorknob where her old leather jackets hangs.

"Should cut it someday."

"Just don't cut it short. I like you with long hair. Done." She ties the hair into a ponytail and Mal likes the less weight on her head.

Both girls head downstairs to meet up with Lugh talking to Alec who they're chuckling together at something, Lalon obnoxiously flirting with Sheree, although she's flirting back as well as the kids run up to Mal.