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MINERVA HADN'T STOPPED STARING AT HER HANDS. They were becoming paler than usual as the Washington temperature began to decrease. It was their first time having to camp in the outside since her group was destroyed.
After losing all of her hope, it was just them, the remaining three that was left of her group. Lena and Minerva's brother, Damon. All she had left in this godforsaken world.
There were originally four of them when the end of the world hit. Minerva, Lena, Damon, and Minervas fiancé, Isaac. As the four of them traveled from Rochester to Washington D.C in search of Damon and Minerva's parents, they let others into their group along the way.
But congratulations! Her parents were dead, as the rest of the world.
The group lived in a small clinic right outside of the nation's capital. The group consisted of families, some newlywed couples, and orphaned siblings, totaling about 12 people. After a heard overran the clinic, there were only but three of them left.
"Its been three months," A voice came from behind Minvera. She was sitting down on a log, in the middle of the woods with trees surrounding their campsite. She turned her body to look at her brother who was standing behind her. Her eyes trailed off of him to see Lena finally awake and taking down the tent they put up the day before. "I heard the noises again last night, I'm beginning to think someones watching us."
"Wouldn't be the first time," She sighed as she turned back away from her brother as he kneeled down and sat beside her on the log. "Maybe we can start heading south. Winters will become easier." She began messing with the grass and twigs that were beneath her feet.
An exasperated sigh came from Damon's mouth as they sat there in almost silence. "Look, in the last few months you can't just not talk to us. I know, shit happened and we lost people, but you can't just shut me out. Not Lena at least."
Minerva became agitated. She hated how she thought her older brother's words can just fix what happened. "I got everyone killed. I got a kid killed." She spat in reply as she stood up and let her body face him again. "You can't just act as nothing happened. I got the man I loved killed."
"You cant just blame yourself for something like that to happen. Isaac's death wasn't your fault."
Minerva shook her head in his reply. She wiped her nose as she felt tears begin to form in the corner of her eyes. She was exhausted from his talking already.
"Herd!" They both heard Lena shout from behind them. Minerva and Damon threw themselves in her direction, almost tripping in the process.
The three of them threw on their backpacks as walkers began to flood the forest. Minerva tossed out her katana that was placed around her back and sliced the nearest walker she could see. She killed another after another out of anger as more and more began to flood the area around her. She backed away from the herd as she ran away in the direction of Lena and Damon's steps.
And at that moment, everything stopped as Lena fell to the ground beneath her. Shit. She wouldn't let another person die, not her best friend.
Minerva ran to her aide as the walker heard was still continually following the trio. The forest around them was filled with agony of Lena's screams.
She had stepped directly in a bear trap.
The trap was clamped tightly around her ankle and the moments became to feel slower. "Just go without me." Lena scrambles out as she put her hand on Minervas shoulder attempting to let her ankle be free. Her brother came beside her prying the trap open and Lena released another scream of agony and she was finally able to stand up.
"Don't put weight on it," Minerva told Lena and she stood on one foot and wrapped her arm around Damon using himself as a crutch. "The road is just up ahead we can outrun them." She pointed in the direction that they were headed to and stabbed another walker in the head as she placed her sword back on her back where it originally was and helped Lena as another crutch.
The trio had finally made it to the road. They gave themselves a good distance between them and the herd that was continually following them. They thought they were safe until they met a man with a car in the middle of the road.
"Don't freak out!" He stated as he threw his empty hands in the air. The man was standing on the opposite side of the car where the met. "I saw that she got injured, I can help."
The three of them were too stunned to even react to the situation they just got themselves in. Neither of them had encountered anyone in months.
There eyes met as Lena nearly fell over from the pain. If Minerva had a gun, it would be pointed at the strangers head right now. But sure enough, they had no ammo left, and not even enough medical supplies for Minerva to help Lena even if she tried.
"How can we trust you?" Damon finally spoke through the silence as they heard the group of walkers come close and closer to where they were.
"I have a camp nearby. And telling by them coming close I feel like we don't have much of an option here." He admitted. His voice was sincere and he sure as hell didn't want to get eaten by a herd of walkers.
"Okay," Minerva finally admitted. He looked like a person that they could at least trust. She was still full of anger but she didn't want to die, not today.
Damon helped Lena open the door as all of them piled into the car. The walkers finally caught up to them as they met the road, as everyone was seated the man slammed on the petal.
"My name is Aaron." He spoke after speeding away. He adjusted himself in his seat and wiped the forming sweat on his forehead.
"My name is Minerva. That's my brother Damon and my friend Lena." She spoke out of breath and in relief that this man just saved their lives.
Minerva was simply actually not meaning to be nice to Aaron. She turned her head and grit her teeth looking out the window. Could she really trust where he was taking them?
"If you look in the front pocket of my backpack there's pictures of our camp. Tall walls, running water, electricity," Aaron said as Damon russled through the backpack that was sitting on the floor of the car.
Minerva turned herself again turning around to face the back seat of the car, with her head resting on the seat looking at the pictures Aaron had described.
"So what did you guys do before this?" Aaron asked finally breaking the silence they had for a short moment. Damon and her eyes met with each other continuing to scan through the pictures of his camp.
"Lena was a realtor and I was a college professor." Damon replied to Aaron giving the pictures to Lena. She was on the slide of passing out, but she managed to wrap a shirt around her ankle to stop the bleeding.
"And you?" Aarons gaze was set back on Minerva instead of the road.
She positioned herself back into her seat. "Medical sergeant for the army."
Aaron let out a laugh putting his gaze back to the road. "My mom was this close on making me join the army, to make me more of a man," He shot out his hand. "So glad I got out of it."
Minerva laughed in a reply. "Could never imagine."
The car had finally came to a stop. And what could Aaron say? He was a man of his words. It was a large community, everything what the pictures were. The three of them came out from the car their mouths agape from what they saw.
