𝙰𝚝 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝙾𝚏 𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚢 | 𝚃. 𝙾𝚝𝚝𝚘 𐂃

Chapter 3

It's been six days since then. And what was meant to be a joyous family reunion turned out to be a foolish mistake on Cristine's part. Apart from her father, she wasn't received in a very hospitable manner by the majority of the Survivalists.

Being James Garrard's eldest child resulted in many funny looks. It was as if she was an infected that'd infiltrated the Ranch and was hard to get rid of.

An intruder.

It wasn't as if Cristine hadn't tried to leave. On the contrary, that same night she asked Hailey to help her do just that. Being naive as usual, Hailey wanted to ask Troy for help. Cristine urged her not to tell anyone, not even Dolores or their father and just blame it on her getting tricked.

These Ranch people didn't trust her and they had every right to. She wouldn't trust a stranger either, but Cristine soon noticed that their distrust leaned more towards bigotry than anything else.

At first, Cristine was astounded by her discovery and the things people would worry about while the dead rose again.

Presently, the term "killer" wasn't only reserved for psychopaths. If the killing was done for means of survival no-one thought less of you. There were those that took life and crumpled under the weight of guilt, even if they'd no choice. There were some who killed when necessary and never lost a wink of sleep over it, that's pretty much where Cristine was at both mentally and morally.

There were also those who have made it a whole new lifestyle, look at them the wrong way and they attacked with lethal force. If something belonged to them, felt you owed them your existence, they'd turn into something worse than the dead.

This last group were the only ones considered murderers now. The term killer applied to Cristine as much as it did to a wolf. Killing in self-defense was just a given now. Killing for resources a grey area, and until now she's never done it, there were times she felt tempted to and wouldn't judge the people that did.

But the murderers, the real threats finally roamed free with the chaos of the world. Cristine had met her share of such people. By herself, in a group, and then that community... they even seemed to increase as the consequences of their actions were usually minimal and nonexistent.

And while the racist preppers on Broke Jaw Ranch wouldn't think twice of casting her out, Cristine spat over their priorities. These sheep literally had nothing better to do with their spare time on the farm than eyeballing her as if she was something other.

What if this place got overrun?

Those were the only thoughts that ran through Cristine's mind at the time. Even before the undead, Cristine always imagined the worst in people. It was just in their livelihood; in their nature to act selfish and protect themselves from the things that weren't according to the norm.

Cristine personally learned this the hard way, but she eventually did. The Apocalypse taught her more and that's how she was able to survive until now. How she planned her simple, but foolproof escape.

Disappear as swiftly and stealthily as possible. Even if her father was here, this place would never be a home. She'd done it once before and got over it fairly quick.

It almost worked.

Cristine overestimated her and Hailey's sisterly bond, but the latter actually ended up spilling her plan from A to Z to not one, but two Otto members. She thought that, "they would understand and be willing to help her get past the guards." Thinking back, Cristine shook her head still a bit flabbergasted as the vexation shifted past her brown eyes.

The oldest brother, Jake, began to reassuringly explain to her that, while it might be a challenge to fit in, Cristine was welcome to stay on the Ranch if she was willing to contribute. Jake also told her how her father vouched for her in front of everyone. She was a welcomed family member.