Nomads: The Ghost + The Darkness//Sequel(TheWattys2019)

Chapter Nineteen: Bridge To Freedom

Chloe POV
We were able to fit in the minivan, we were guessing that the previous owner was a soccer mom, we were close to crossing a bridge, there were tons of walkers everywhere,"Should we loot these cars?"
"Negative, we've already lost enough time and the supplies we need, we should keep going, otherwise we're close to the Border" I guess Javier was right, I looked over at Blaire and Dylan, he was still comforting her,"Hey you still have those stories that you wrote for Marilyn?" She nodded and pulled it out of her bag,"Here you go"
"Thank you, you're a lifesaver" She smiled lightly and closed her eyes a tad, we were finally at the border and currently crossing the bridge,"It looks..."
"Don't even say it" Michelle said it to me in a stern voice,"We've come this far, we don't need bad thoughts about this" There were walkers banging on the minivan, Missy started barking, Blaire instantly woke up,"Missy" She looked at the windows,"Oh god"
"How are these not breaking?"
"It's carbo-glass, they can't break it, apparently this isn't a soccer mom van" He said as he was driving at a normal pace,"Either that or she was a really protective mother"
"Javier just fucking drive, floor it!" He did and he eventually spun and we rolled then we were on a side, I coughed,"Is everyone okay?" They all said yes and a compartment opened, it was ammo?"I do not think this is a soccer mom van" Dylan groaned and looked at the compartment,"No shit!" He groaned and unbuckled himself then fell, shit now I need to,"Michelle? Javier? Courtney?" I saw Missy lying, there,"Missy?" She whimpered,"Oh my god Missy!" I picked her up and the others woke up,"Javier can you go out your door?"
"Lemme check" He opened and looked up for walkers out there,"We're in the clear, let's go" I carried her, I was the last, I told Dylan to carry her

Javier POV
"Missy's hurt?" Dylan nodded,"We gotta leave her here, she's hurt" Dylan looked at me with an offended look,"And we should leave the ones that are helpless?"
"We left Marilyn and Fynn"
"Because it was too late! It's not too late for her, Courtney you can help her can you?" Courtney nodded as Blaire got out,"Javier, we are not leaving another one behind"
"Guys they're coming!"
"I took the ammo out, there's enough for all of us, but for one gun" Michelle asked her,"By how much?"
"I don't know, but it's enough to keep them off our asses" Michelle snatched it out of her hands and loaded it into her gun,"Michelle what are you doing?"
"What's it look like? Go!"
"What? Michelle I-"
"I said go!" She started shooting at the walkers and misdirecting them, she just ran and ran to the other side of the bridge,"We need to go now" We ran to the other side of the bridge wondering what happened to Michelle,"Blaire, don't lose control on us now" Courtney said to her and she shook her head, Chloe looked down,"I can't believe it, we lost 3 people in 2 days"
"From the looks of it, Missy is gonna be okay, she just needs first-aid to get through this" Blaire sighed in relief,"Oh thank god"
"She'll be okay once we get to a vet center" Dylan was carrying Missy,"You know how to help a pet?"
"When I was a Sophomore in High School, I worked at a vet and I asked my boss to teach me a few things about pets, she kept me in for after hours to feed cats and dogs, whatnot and it payed a little more for my nursing major in college"
"Okay that makes sense"
"Thanks to Dr. Lefvere" We looked up and down the streets until we came across a gas station,"There should be a map in there"

Blaire POV
Chloe and I walked into the gas station,"You're not gonna talk about Michelle?" I sighed,"I don't think now is the right time"
"Hey!" She walked up to me in the aisle,"She just saved our asses out there and you're not even gonna say anything about her?"
"We have an injured dog out there and we are walking blind, do you think I have time to think about another one of my best friends that I just lost out there?!" Again my booming voice and it got her to stay quiet and look for the map, i groaned lightly and looked even more, Chloe checked behind the counter,"Found it, let's go" We walked out of the store and walked out of the store,"We found it, let's go"
"Wait, wait, hold on, we need to know where the vet is" So when we looked at the map, we went down the street and found it,"Okay we just need to go down this way and we're in the clear" As soon as we walked in the center, it was loaded,"I guess some people thought that pets aren't important"
"Missy is still breathing, she'll be okay, put her on there" They laid her down, she was whimpering,"She just has a wound, just need to put numb medicine on her and we can stitch it up, put a little cast, sign our names on it" She smiled lightly and we were not amused for a little bit and she got the idea,"Okay, I'll fix her right up" So she went to work on her and we went outside to be on lookout, Chloe went outside with me,"I'm sorry about earlier, I should've came at you like that"
"It was in heat of the moment, don't worry about it"
"I feel like I-i should"
"You don't have to, I don't crumble that easily Chloe" She nodded,"Believe me, if I was told the same way that I told you, I would've cried" I sighed,"That's how I was when I was a child" She looked at me shocked,"Have you always been this way?"
'I pushed myself to get over the yelling and fight back if necessary when I was 14, before it was always be the helpless victim and wait for some prince to help me" She looked at me confused,"You definitely don't look like that girl to be waiting for her prince"
"Oh I used to be"
"Even though this apocalypse is still happening, i still think that there's someone out there for me besides Izaak, I loved him, but I also knew that he wasn't the one for me" I agreed with her,"How did you get through this before Dylan?"
"I'm independent"
"So am I, I have my moments of weakness every now and then...." She looked around,"You can go inside"
"What?"
"Go, I'll be fine, I'll probably have Javier out here with me, as a matter of fact, tell him it's his turn now" I nodded and went back inside to tell Javier that it was his turn to go outside and be on lookout,"But you weren't out there that long"
"I don't know either" He shrugged and grabbed his armor to go out there,"She's doing good so far, definitely looks like she'll make it"
"Guaranteed?"
"Guaranteed, thanks to Dr. Lafvere" She smiled and Dylan patted her on the back, Dylan came back and we looked at her just sleeping after the anesethia she gave Missy,"I think Fynn and Marilyn might be okay"
"You really think so?" She nodded,"Considering that Marilyn has been with you guys and you are very resourceful, without a doubt that she is gone" Dylan nodded,"Yeah, but eventually...you just can't..."
"I'm just saying this from my opinion, you don't have to believe me" After she said this, I replied with,"Courtney, they were on the second floor and the fire was too strong, there's no way that they could've gotten out before us"
"I-I understand what you're saying" I didn't want to start an argument in the middle of her helping Missy, I turned around looking at the door,"Not even gonna talk about Michelle?" I clenched my fists then I released my anger on the inside,"She saved our lives" I guess Dylan noticed my anger, but he also knew that I can suppress it until we go back out there and face the walkers in there,"That's it?"'
"Courtney, we don't need to do this right now because right now, my focus is on Missy, I can't lose another" I can feel my voice breaking and tear another,"I can't lose another one"

That was when she also noticed how overwhelmed I was being, so she apologized,"I just thought that....no offense, but I thought that you didn't care about any of them"I nodded slowly,"I'm aware that I don't show love and affection like everyone else does, but...I do, I did care about them, but their lives weren't mine to control, her choices weren't mine to make for her" I was trying to keep it suppressed by keeping calm by saying that,"They weren't my property, they were like my family and family sacrifices for one another"
"Like a pack" I looked at Dylan,"More like a pack, yeah" A couple hours later she got her fixed up and she was resting, Dylan and I were in the office playing cards,"She's fixed up now and we just let her rest now, whatcha guys playing?"
"Got Jacks?"
"Go fish" She chuckled,"You guys are seriously playing Go fish, that's like a kid's game" Dylan smiled,"Sorry that one of us forgot how to play Poker" She smiled,"Alright deal me in, let's play Go fish" I gave her a set of cards and we started playing again,

Chloe POV
"We should've brought Michelle with us" Javier nodded while scratching his nose,"But we would've died right then and there, she distracted them, she saved us"
"She lost her boyfriend and brother in two days, I guess it felt like she didn't have a purpose" I shook my head,"I don't think she's suicidal, I think she was determined and she'd rather risk her life to save all of us, I know her, she wouldn't try to kill herself"
"Okay, okay I get your point, it's just that I don't know everyone else like all of you do"
"I can understand from your perspective, I mean when I first saw Michelle, she was kinda intimidating, she has that look that she will kill you if you cross her and I was right, but it was for good reason, she opened up when she can trust you. She was...protective and not just about Leo or Fynn, she was protective about us just like earlier" We looked over and saw a group coming over,"Hey little lady, gent, whatcha guys doing out here?"
"We're guarding this place" We gripped our guns making sure he doesn't do anything funny,"Lemme introduce myself, my name is Jesse and welcome to Crescent City" We were unsure about this guy,"I'm Chloe and this is Javier" He nodded,"How many are you here?" He was about to walk in, but Javier and I got closer blocking the door,"Hey hey, whoa I'm not one of the nuts that you probably met before you came here and this isn't Fort Knox"
"How do we know that you're not bad?"
"We all need one thing and that is survival, we all gotta trust each other" I looked at Javier for approvement,"Let me check in with Howell or Primus"
"Howell or Primus?"
"The leaders you need to worry about" I said after Javier went inside

Blaire POV
Javier came in,"Blaire, Dylan, we need you to come out for a sec" Dylan and I dropped our cards and asked why,"Because there is a guy named Jesse who was about to come in here and wants us to trust him" We looked at each other,"Okay, let's check him out"
"Courtney, keep an eye on Missy"
"Sure thing" We walked out and Jesse grinned,"I expected you two to be you know, buff" We sarcastically laughed,"Be careful of what you think of other people, you never know what they could turn out to be"
"Hey hey whoa whoa, I was just messin with ya" He raised his hands up a little,"Look I'm in a group and we need help"
"What makes you think that we could be useful?" Dylan asked him and Jesse answered with this,"You guys made it over the bridge didn't ya? I mean half the people you saw out there were the ones who tried to make it across"
"Huh..."
"You see, like I told these two, I want you guys to trust me and you can trust me because our group is helpful, we're only to-" Then everything blacked out.