Don't Be Scared

S.1 E.5 ~ HSZ (Ch. 28)

Addy wrapped her arms around my shoulder, bringing my warm body back against hers. My worried orbs traveled up to see the mirroring expression covering her face as well. Yet, the smile still gave me a reassuring feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Her long hair was wild in the wind; whipping left and right, twisting and raising. Mine was probably doing the same thing right now, but somehow all the strands connected to our scalp stayed away from our face.

Relaxing in her embrace, I lowered my eyelids as she started to talk to my brother. She's been quiet lately. The woman doesn't do any puns with me anymore, which makes me upset. We use to be so close.

She doesn't even seem close to Mack anymore.

After about a good ten minutes, I opened up my eyes to see that we were pulling into a town; a ghost town it looks like. It was small, smaller than any town I've ever seen. It only had the basics it seemed.

Well, I never really got out of New York that much so I think any town in general would be small in my eyes. Getting out of the parked vehicle, I jumped onto the black paved road as Warren and Charlie walked down to a billboard with papers stapled on top of it.

There was nothing being still on our bodies; our hair moved every which way, the clothing we wore lifted up or was yanked down. The wind was a violent gush of random coldness as it blew, chilling our skin to the point of goosebumps.

I stood in between 10K and Mack; my relative on the left of me. On Mack's left was his beautiful girlfriend and on 10K's right was Cassandra's tired form. We're all tired, but she got woken up during her nap.

Charlie turned around, waving us over to follow them. Jogging to whatever location they were leading us in, we were all silent peas. The wind made enough noise for everyone, though. I wish I had my jacket still.

I only got a glance of Warren's face as she was stepping back from the billboard, but it showed signs of regret, guilt, and familiarization. She knew this place, and she either did something here or left a bad mark on this place.

Whatever it was, she was hesitant on coming here. We stopped jogging at a perfectly undamaged, brick home. Warren and Charlie climbed onto the small cement porch. Mack and Addy stayed on the steps while the rest of us stayed on the clean grass.

Oddly, it was trimmed. Guess grass here takes time to grow. I now stood in between Cassandra and 10K as we all watched the four of them, intently.

"If he's in here and he's--."

"--I will not hesitate." Warren cut off her leader.

First time she's ever done that. But who is 'he'? Family member? She must know this town then. Warren was the one leading us to the house now that I think of it. Her chocolate orbs scanned the whole place every time we passed a building.

Our female leader bent down to take a key from one of the land decors and unlocked the door before Mack could do any damage to the entrance. She knows this home. That could only mean one thing.

While Charlie opened the now unlocked door, she was the first to enter the home. With all of our guns raised and ready to fire at will, we all stepped into the abandoned house. Shoulders were raised at the tension that filled the air.

Once I was inside, I stayed in the living room with Murphy, Charlie, and Warren. Doc and 10K went to the kitchen while Cassandra went down the hallway. Addy and Mack took upstairs.

"Home sweet zombie."

Murphy flopped onto a dark grey recliner, showing us how comfortable he was already. He held his hands behind his head, looking content with himself.

In a flash, Warren was stalking towards the relaxing experiment with a face full of rage, "Get out of his chair! That is his chair!"

She leaned close to his face, hand above his own and the other pointing at the wall behind her. I took a step back, shocked and fearing her wrath myself.

"Go on and get out of there! That's my husband's favorite chair!"

Her hometown. This is her hometown. Where she was bred and born. Murphy, not wanting to pick a fight that he knows he wouldn't win, jumped up from the sentimental chair. I took another step back, bumping into something.

They grunted at the pressure on their toes. Quickly, I turned around and apologized to 10K. Jeez, I just can't stop hurting him nowadays.

"Uh, upstairs is all good." Mack hesitantly spoke as he came from upstairs.

Only thing 10K has done is tried to help me. Randomly remembering what conversation Addy and I had on the bed of the truck, my face went tomato red and switched views to our close feet. Taking another step back, I sat on the recliner that didn't seem to have any emotional values towards Warren.

Glancing my way to see what I was doing in her home, she turned back around to face an anxious Charlie.

"Warren!" Doc shouted from the where he, and 10K were suppose to be.

Why didn't 10K stay with Doc? I stayed in the comfortable chair, looking out the transparent window. Wild pieces of paper floated in the spinning air or running across the semi-clean street. This whole place seems cozy, honestly.

Warren's husband must've died during the apocalypse, and she never got the chance to give him mercy. Maybe that's why she's so touchy here.

"Rick? Rick? Help him!" I heard an unfamiliar woman shout from the kitchen they were all gathered in.

Curiosity killed my kitty so I got up from the rocking chair and moved to into the kitchen. I tried to peek over 10K's broad shoulder, but the guy was just too tall for my shorter height. Instead, I noticeably took a step beside him to stare at the scene before us.

Doc was on the ground with a man and a woman; presumably a wife and husband. The man's head was wrapped up in a dish towel with blood running from under it and spreading down to his face.

The woman was in hysterics; she acted as if she needed a hit from Doc's 'Magic Smoke'.

"Is-Is he gonna be okay?" The panicked woman asked the makeshift doctor, who was trying his best not to panic at the sight as well.

He didn't want to throw the woman into an even bigger panic attack, but he seemed to be panicking himself. Warren, ignoring the distressed woman's question, bent down with a picture in her hand.

My leader started to ask if she had seen the man in the photograph, but, of course, the woman being in the tremor state she was in, was not thinking too clearly. The only thing she gave Warren was a pitiful, 'I don't know, maybe?'s.

Not even an actual, clear answer, if you ask me. Once Charlie saw that they weren't going to be getting anywhere and the fact Warren was growing exceedingly angrier, he gently tapped Warren's shoulder. The dark skinned woman removed herself from the woman's attention and stood beside the man she's been with since I could remember in the apocalypse.

|| Getting high all the time to get you off of my mind. ||