Is it that time!?
YES, FOLKS! It is the time of when I recreate 'Don't be Afraid'!
Because of the feels I have for deleting this, I've decided I've disappointed my viewers for WAY too long! SO HERE IT IS, FOLKS! THE NEW VERSION OF DON'T BE AFRAID!
I DON'T OWN THE WALKING DEAD!
"Hey, Tess. Get up."
I opened my eyes to see my father's head peeking through my mobile door. I yawned, sitting up on my cot. I was still in the clothes I wore the day prior; Blue jeans, calf-high brown combat boots and a black tank top. I had the audacity to remove the brown fleece jumper and sleeveless green vest before I went to sleep, which were strewn among the small dining table. On cold days I wore layered clothing for warmth and protection from the lurker bites. Hopefully it wasn't all that cold today.
I stretched a little as I stood up, blinking the sleep from my eyes. "Ugh, what time is it?" I muttered, scratching my neck.
Dad took a glance at his wristwatch and smirked. "Eh, about quarter to nine." He answered with a light tone.
8:45...Awwww! NO! I was supposed to wake up more than an hour ago!
"I SLEPT IN!?" I shouted, grabbing my dark green sleeveless vest in a hurry to get ready. "Toby's gonna be so angry!"
My father just stood there chuckling at my misfortune. If I were ever to be late for my assignments, I would suffer without Lunch and Dinner for the day. Breakfast was a pass, but the rest of the day was punishment; No food, just more work.
I rushed out of the tent, feeling scared. Yes, SCARED. Scared of Toby. Tobias Emerson. HE was the one who gave out assignments. He was also my abusive ex-boyfriend.
"Darlin', don't you worry. I let you sleep in. Just brush your teeth, get you some jerky, then come on out. Your mom's giving out the preachin'. If you hurry with your work, you'll be able to help me greet the fresh meat!" Dad assured, that stupid smirk latched on his worn features.
I felt so much relief. Thank god! THANK GOD!
"Thanks, Dad!" I said, grabbing my brush and toothpaste. "I-I'll see you outside!"
"I'll give you ten minutes to get ready."
After brushing my teeth, I swallowed a portion of Hickory jerky and then walked out of my mobile, locking the door with my key. I walked toward the entrance of the store to see Tobias sitting on his ass in a lawn chair, staring up at the cloudless sky. I cleared my throat to get his attention. It worked.
"Hey, you're late, Tessie." He gave me a lustful stare as he handed me a small clipboard to look at. "I hope you get 'Scouting'. I have it later today...maybe we could...take some wine with us." He suggested, biting his thumb nail. "Maybe you could get into Carver's cupboard?"
I scoffed in disgust, snatching the clipboard. Tobias seemed to have noticed my disgust, so he smirked and opened his arms. "Whaaaaat? There ain't no harm in a little bump 'n grind."
I searched for my name on the paper and fingered the spot where my name was. "In your dreams." I muttered, grateful that I actually didn't have 'Scouting'. I had 'Dishwashing'. Great. Lady shit to do.
Hey, at least I didn't have this arrogant bastard to work with.
"It is, actually." Tobias confirmed, chuckling. I threw the clipboard onto his built chest in anger.
"You KEEP dreamin'!" I snarled, turning around and walking away furiously. I didn't even mind if he stared at my toned arms, or my legs. Hell, he could stare at my body all he wants, but he ain't getting any! I grumbled to myself as I exited Howe's Hardware to go to the cleaning station next door.
I stomped over to the side of a comic book store next to Howe's, finding a few buckets of dirty dishes next to a bucket of clean water. I furiously began washing dishes with dish soap and a sponge, rage filling me up at the thought of my horrible past with that fucker I used to call my boyfriend.
I just took out my anger on the dishes. It actually helped to scrub them spotless.
After all my work was done, I raced to the front gates where my dad was waiting. The few trucks pulled in and stopped. The drivers hopped out of their vehicles and the one in front of us slid the back door up, revealing about eight people in the back.
Dad smirked down at me as I held my hands behind my back in a tense stance.
"You seem ready to take on boulders, sweetie." He playfully nudged me. I relaxed my posture, feeling a bit embarrassed as the people hopped out of the truck.
"Don't be afraid... Don't be afraid..." I kept thinking to myself over and over again.
Dad crossed his arms as he paced in front of the new group. "Hey, folks...Welcome to the community." He greeted.
I shifted my eyes to Tobias as Dad explained the procedures of this community.
Toby was leaning against the wall, a dark smirk creeping up on his face. I don't know why Dad kept him alive; The man is a monster.
"Tess...? TESS!"
I snapped into attention to see Dad staring at me intensively. "Huh, what?" I mumbled, blushing from all the stares.
My father marched over to me and laid a hand on my shoulder. He casually announced, "This is Tess, my daughter. She'll be here giving you your assignments later on today. But for now, she'll give you a grand tour of this holy place. Right, Tess?"
I nodded and forced a smile at the newcomers. "Yes. I'll show you our home." I said.
"First, we need some introductions. Tess, why don't you ask 'em along the way?" Dad suggested, gently pushing me to the side as he walked back into the store.
I nodded, standing there. "I hope you all don't mind telling me your names? If you don't have one, give me a nickname to acknowledge you by." I said.
The newcomers all stared at me. I scratched my neck lightly as I cleared my throat at the silence. "So...Names." I reminded almost timidly.
"My name's Alvin, and this is my wife Rebecca." An African-American guy with glasses and a pot-belly introduced himself and his pretty wife, who was also African-American but with a much lighter skin tone. They both seemed nice. I gave them a small smile.
I looked to a middle-aged man. He was bald, looked worn, but he seemed like a calm person to me. I pointed at him, "You?"
The man chuckled and crossed his arms. "Oh, I'm Peter Randall. I let my friends call me Pete. This here's my sister Marie and nephew Nick," He motioned to a middle-aged brunette woman and a young man with a cap. "and we sure do appreciate you takin' us in." He uncrossed his arms to civilly shake my hand, which surprised me; In this community, you had to look for the right people for kindness!
"Great!" I praised. "Nice to meet you."
After letting go of Pete's hand, I instantly spotted a Hispanic man in a checkered shirt with his arm wrapped around a young Hispanic teenaged girl's shoulder in an almost protective manner.
"Hi there!" The girl greeted cheerfully with a joyous wave. "I'm Sarah and this is my dad...uh...what's your name, Dad?" She introduced, then scrunched her nose and looked up to her father for answers. The older man rolled his eyes a bit as he stepped forward. He also looked worn, mid-30's maybe.
"My name is Carlos. You'll have to excuse my daughter's behavioral antics. It's been a while since we've seen actual people." He explained as I let him shake my hand with his calloused one. Oooh! He's one of vocabulary!
"I understand." I agreed, letting go. "My family's been there."
"Haven't we all." Carlos muttered.
I nodded in advance as he stepped back. A guy with a machete strapped to his back rubbed the back of his head. He looked young. Mid 20's?
Don't get any ideas, Contessa.
"Uh...hey. I'm Luke. Nice to meet ya, I guess." This dude had a southern accent and brown hair, brown eyes, handsome features, fit build. Hm.
I crossed my arms and tilted my head curiously. He must've been a country boy. "Hm. Uh, I hope we can be good friends, I guess." I mocked, playing an imitation of Luke.
Pete snickered. "He's just shy. You'll get used to it."
Luke cast the elder man a glare. He muttered, "Nah. Nick's the shy one."
Cap-guy scoffed. "Hey, fuck you!" He snapped. Marie sternly slapped his arm.
"Now, now, not in front of the lady!" Pete scolded, flicking his head to me. I had my hand over my mouth to hide my giggles.
I took a deep breath as the two shut their mouths and then uncovered my mouth. "Come on, people. Follow me!" I enthusiastically began walking further into the store with everyone following me one by one.
"There's my dad up there." I pointed out, looking up at the man in the office. "He's making an announcement."
I heard Sarah 'ooh, that's so cool!' in awe as we walked along. Murmurs of approval rang out as we passed the piles and piles of food on the shelf.
Dad spotted me and smirked. He was watching us.
I turned and hummed as I presented the kitchens. "These two mobile units are what we call the kitchens. We usually cook lunch and dinner outside, so whenever a meal's being prepared, you can smell it. Luckily our hunters have caught many deer, so we'll have venison for lunch today as well as more than just a few days. Lunch will be served at around eleven." I announced, noticing how Luke was practically drooling. Well, it seemed everyone else was hungry. In fact, they all looked a bit thin. How long had it been since they'd last eaten?
"So were these pulled in or were these already here?" Carlos inquired.
I nodded, turning to the right to walk to the armory. "They were pulled in with the trucks. It took a lot to take it all into this big store." I explained as I pulled a key out of my vest pocket. "They also block off the back exits so the cooks can work outside."
I opened the door, and instantly everyone went wide eyed when they saw the weapons inside of the armory. I couldn't go against that; The armory had the semi-automatics and other guns hanging up on hook on the wall, buckets and buckets of ammunition sat on the floor. Guns were neatly placed on the table with magazines piled up beside them. We had all the goods. We even had army knives and construction tools to use as occasional weapons.
"This is obviously the armory," I explained. "We have almost every gun off of the list. To think we started out with a revolver and thirty-three bullets..."
"Ho-ly shit!" Luke exclaimed with awe. "This is amazing!"
"I'll say!" Alvin agreed.
"Don't get any ideas, handsome." I cut in with a chuckle, "These weapons took over eight months to collect...The ammunition, too." I explained, staring up at all the guns and weapons. "Due to past event of people stealing from the count, we make sure the door's locked every single time we go out. If people take them for scouting, we make a list. Anyone who doesn't bring the guns back when the day's done gets punishment unless they're on a trip."
Nick blinked up at a rifle hanging on the wall. "I like this room." He mumbled.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Of course you would, Nick. But you know you can't shoot for shit."
"No, no." I said with a laugh. "This is usually the highlight of the tour."
I took a closer look at Nick since he was beside me, and as much as I hate to admit... I thought he looked kinda cute... KINDA...
Don't get ahead of yourself, Contessa.
I pretended not to look at his cool blue eyes as I let the group take it all in.
Damn it.
That's it for now! Yeah, she only covered two places of the community, but the big part's gonna come soon! Coleen will be in next chapter! She's the gospel preacher of the holy place XD
ALSO, there's an offer I'm going to make for OC's. I can only accept about three or four, so with the feedback of this chapter, I need you guys to give me a brief description of the OC and then ideas for the introduction. Then PM me the rest of your very detailed information. (Not including you, Emily Carver.)
It can be male or female. I need hair color, eye color, Nationality, Full name, and a brief description of clothing and backstory. Oh, and since Emily Carver's already the half-sister of my character, I can't accept any more Carver-siblings...as much as it pains me to say it. I know a certain someone wants to be in my story :,(
But hey! He's in Emily's story as her twin brother, so all is good! Right, Chris?
Tobias is in here -.- Meanie. If you've read 'Life is a Challenge,' you'd know how he is. Apparently he and Tess are on a level of sex jokes and hate, but they're not together.
(SO SO SO SO SORRY, CHRIS CARVER! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! I GIVEZ YOU COOKIES!?)