AN:
Hello,folks! I am a new author on the site, and as such I will operate under the pseudonym "Aspie". Forgive me if the story isn't that good, but I'm not doing this for reviews. I'm doing this because I have had this story idea stuck in my head for weeks now and I would like to get it out of my head so I can focus on more important things. Feel free to give me pointers and offer advice, but please, be nice about it. This story will be featuring an OC based on myself. Anyway, I have been blabbering for too long, on with the show!
Chapter 1:
"Well, that's the last one," Aasim said as he removed the rabbit carcass from the snare and reset the trap.
Mitch stood just behind him, three more dead rabbits slung over his shoulder.
"Think this will be enough to feed everyone?"
Aasim turned around to face the other boy and shrugged.
"I don't know, man. I would like to hope so, but I've still gotta live with the possibility that someone might go hungry tonight."
Mitch remained silent, unable to come up with a response.
Aasim let out a sigh. "We'd better start heading back. It's getting late, and Vi-"
Suddenly, there was the sound of someone stepping on a twig, followed by a soft gasp of fear.
Aasim began to take slow, cautionary steps towards a nearby bush where the sounds seemed to be coming from.
"Who's there?" he called out.
Another, slightly louder, gasp was heard, along with the rustling of leaves.
"Please don't hurt me!" cried a female voice from within the foliage.
Aasim was taken aback; he wasn't expecting to hear a response to his question. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you," he said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.
The voice spoke again, more fearful and slightly aggressive this time. "What reason do I have to trust you?"
"Should we really be wasting our time with this?" Mitch grumbled. "Let's just go already."
Aasim turned and gave him a dirty look.
"Mitch, just shut up! She's clearly scared. We can't just leave her here!"
Mitch opened his mouth to say something, but Aasim held up his hand.
"Just shut up and let me handle this!"
Mitch acquiesced and just looked away, muttering angrily to himself.
Aasim returned his attention to the bush and the frightened stranger hiding within it.
"You're right, we haven't given you one good reason to trust us, but I promise you we're not going to hurt you. Can you please tell me your name?"
There was a long silence before whoever it was let out an agitated sigh and said, "This goes against my better judgement, but fine. My name is Carly Jo, people sometimes call me CJ."
"Nice to meet you, CJ," Aasim said, although the niceties weren't really necessary, given the circumstances. "My name is Aasim. The other guy you heard me talking to is Mitch. Are you bit?"
"No, thank God," came Carly Jo's immediate reply.
"Okay, good. Are you alone?" he asked.
"Yes, I am on my own out here," she said. "But…in a way, I'm not completely alone."
Aasim was puzzled.
What she just said made no sense; 'not completely alone', what the hell was that supposed to mean?
"What are you talking about?"
Carly Jo sighed in defeat.
"Alright, I'm coming out."
Aasim backed away from the bush, and watched as a teenage girl emerged from it, followed by a small dog.
The girl looked to be seventeen years old, had long, curly, strawberry blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail, and piercing blue eyes. There was a look of pure fear in those eyes as they darted around in all directions, searching for the best possible escape route.
She wore a white shirt with a pink flower pattern, an oversized pink hoodie, jeans, and blue running shoes.
Immediately upon seeing the two boys, the dog, a tan colored chihuahua-spaniel mix with floppy ears and a curly tail, stood between the pair and her owner and began to bark and growl ferociously.
It wasn't until his eyes fell on her midsection that Aasim understood what she'd meant about not being completely alone, besides the dog, that is: Carly Jo was very pregnant.
After some time, Carly Jo squated down, picked up her dog, and wrapped her hand gently around the dog's muzzle to quiet her before standing up again.
"Lady, shhhh," she hissed.
Aasim was in shock. He was not expecting her to be with child, but that gave him all the more reason to try to convince Carly Jo to come with them back to the boarding school.
He couldn't leave her out here in the wilderness, pregnant; it was too dangerous.
"Hey, listen, Carly Jo," Aasim began, "Mitch and I live at a school not to far from here with a bunch of other kids. Given your…situation, I was thinking of asking you to join us."
"Hell, no!" shouted Mitch. "She could be a member of the Delta! Besides, remember what happened the last time we let strangers in?"
Aasim pinched the bridge of his nose and released a frustrated grunt. "Yes, Mitch, I remember. I was there. Everyone else has gotten over it and forgiven Clem and AJ, you should do the same. Secondly, the Delta isn't coming back, we made sure of that by taking out Lilly. I mean, look at her, Mitch!"
Mitch gave Carly Jo a look of deep distrust.
"She's pregnant! As I said before, we can't just leave her here. It's not safe for her or the baby!"
Carly Jo held her dog closer and started to slowly inch away, whimpering. "If it's gonna be a problem, then I'll just stay in the woods, and y'all can pretend you never saw me," she said, fighting the urge to cry.
"No, CJ, we're not leaving you behind," said Aasim determinedly. "I refuse. And you know what? I don't care what you say, Mitch. Carly Jo is coming with us and that's final!"
"Okay, fine," Mitch said, realizing that this was a battle he wasn't going to win. "But this doesn't mean I'm cool with it."
He turned, and started walking in the direction of the school.
Aasim sighed and shook his head before turning back to Carly Jo, who was on the verge of tears. He stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her, but she shrugged it off.
"So you're not the touchy feely type, got it," he said.
Carly Jo took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
"Yeah, sorry for almost falling to pieces there," she said, removing her hand from Lady's muzzle. "I don't like confrontation, and when people get angry, I-"
She stopped, realizing that she was about to say too much.
Did she really want to discuss her past with some guy she'd just met?
No way.
She didn't trust him yet, and besides, Carly Jo didn't feel like opening up old wounds.
"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Aasim said. "And don't mind Mitch, he's just an asshole. Once the other kids meet you, I'm sure they'll understand the situation and let you stay. So, what do you say, will you join our group?"
Carly Jo thought for a moment.
Did she have any reason to trust these people?
None whatsoever.
Did she want the best life possible for her baby?
Absolutely.
Regardless of how she felt about these new folks, it was time to step out of her comfort zone and start putting her child first. She nodded.
"Yes. I don't know you guys, and I don't trust people in general, but I want what's best for my baby."
She looked down at her little dog. "Lady, are you gonna be nice?"
Since Mitch took off, the dog had stopped making noise and was now resting quietly in her owner's arms. CJ took the silence as a yes.
"Thank you".
She set her dog back down on the ground and turned to Aasim.
"Let's get out of here before the walkers catch up with us," she said.
Aasim smiled and held out his hand for her to shake, which she did.
"Welcome to the group."
They set off in the same direction that Mitch had gone in earlier.
Carly Jo didn't know what to expect from this new group.
She had learned from experience that the living were just as bad, if not beyond worse, than the dead. As a result, she avoided people altogether.
But with the weather getting colder, it was becoming harder and harder every day for her to find food for herself and her unborn child.
Maybe this group won't be too bad. Maybe she could finally have a place that she, and her baby, could call home.
And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of The Broken Girl. As the story progresses, we will get to learn more about Carly Jo's traumatic past before she came to Ericson, including the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy. As I said before, feel free to give me tips and pointers concerning my writing, because I will definitely need them, but constructive criticism, please. Also, tell me what y'all think of Carly Jo. Do you love her as much as I do? Do you hate her? Any of the above, let me know. I hope you're all having a lovely day, and Happy early Thanksgiving!
This is Aspie signing off.