A/N: I fucking hate Mary-Sues, and I'm trying really hard not to make this OC one, so feel free to flame me with all the stupid shit she does that's just oh too perfect, please? I need to fix it! Enjoy, R&R!
It had been a month since the failure that was the CDC. Things had changed, but probably for the worse. They'd lost two more, Andrea and T-Dog, in a Walker attack when they'd broken down on a back road around Des Moines two weeks before, and had now made it as far north as Douglas, Wyoming. It was getting colder, and everyone was getting quieter. Even Carl and Sophia, who would speak animatedly of the things they missed or play cards, barely said a word anymore. Conversation only went so far as "Let's stop to make camp here," or "Who's going to take watch?" and the like.
Which is why no one really knew how to react when they found the first living person for over 1,500 miles.
Shane and Rick had gone to scout the area surrounding the small camp that had been set up, and came back followed by a woman who looked like she hadn't seen one day of the apocalypse. For one, she looked clean. She wore black jeans and hiking boots, and a red sweatshirt, with her long black hair covered by a purple beanie. When she came closer, they saw the silenced gun shoved into her belt, and took back the opinion.
Rick spoke up. "This is Jessica." She waved. "She lives a half a mile south, and we're going to stay with her." Was all that was said.
Everyone got everything back into the cars and Jessica got in the front seat of the RV, directing the way. A few minutes later, they arrived at a large farmhouse with no other houses for miles. Jessica got out, opening the tall chain link fence that surrounded the immediate property and the RV, Daryl on his bike, and the Jeep drove in. Jessica locked back up and invited everyone inside.
For a few seconds, everyone could forget what was going on in the world. It was so normal inside the house. Everything was in place, there was even a TV, sun shone in through the windows. And then they all saw the small holes in the walls where boards had once been nailed over the windows, and realization came back, but they still knew that this was better than being constantly on the move, camping in the wilderness.
"You can all sit down, if you want." Jessica said with a smile. She was very quiet and it was painfully obvious that she was unsure how to go about speaking to all these strangers. The house was meant for many residents; there were three couches and four armchairs, and god knew how many rooms (there had been quite a few windows). Everyone sat down and Jessica spoke again. "So I know you've been on the move from Atlanta for a month and I know who Rick and Shane are, but I don't know the rest of you."
Introductions were made and the tension started seeping out of the room. "Have you been here this entire time?" Carol asked.
Jessica nodded her head, pulling off her hat and running a hand through her hair. She couldn't have been older than twenty five. "Almost, I was working in my dad's gun shop when all this happened. In Seattle. These guys in riot gear came in and I hid behind the counter. They cleared the room and left, and a couple seconds later I heard screaming and people getting shot. My boyfriend came and got me after that and we left. A day later I was here."
"Where's your boyfriend?" Sophia asked, blurting the words everyone was going to keep from saying.
Jessica bit her lip. "He, uh," she swallowed. "I lost him. In Sheridan." Sophia looked to the floor, realizing she'd asked the wrong thing. Jessica bounced back though. "That's in the past now. What matters is now, and now I have nine people who look tired and hungry in my living room, and I'm doing nothing about it." She stood up. "There are five empty rooms upstairs, and six down here. They all only have one bed, so feel free to move any bed from another room into one if you want, and there're five bathrooms. I'll turn on the generator so you can all have nice hot showers, kay?"
Everyone got a little excited at the mention of the word shower. Everyone mumbled thank you's and dispersed, except Glenn. Glenn hadn't said one word since Des Moines, besides his name only a few minutes before. His eyes were blank most of the time, and it looked like he'd given up hope. Jessica smiled warmly at him. "Glenn, right?" He nodded then stepped forward, pulling her into a crushing hug and burying his face in her neck, despite the four inch height difference. She froze for a second, unsure of what to do, then wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing just as tight. "Thank you." Glenn said and pulled away, walking upstairs.
Jessica took a deep breath and went to the basement, flipping on the generator, sending the darkening house into brightness. She busied herself in the kitchen, using the power while she could to make dinner, and Lori was the first to come in. "Let me help." She said, an unsure smile on her face. She was eternally grateful to this girl but didn't know if she should wholly trust her. Jessica nodded and Lori began opening a can of peas. "You have no idea how much this means to us."
Jessica nodded. "I get the gist of it. Don't thank me, though. You shouldn't have to thank a person for being, well, a person." She turned to look at Lori, and the older woman was taken aback at the look in Jessica's eyes, the bright kind sparkle had turned dark. "You have a child, and a husband. You have family who you love very much and I don't doubt that the group you've been travelling with this whole time has kind of become like a family to you. You all have somebody, and I'm the one out here all by myself. The first thing that popped into my head when I saw Rick and Shane was that I wasn't going to be alone, wasn't going to talk to myself anymore, wasn't going to question the point of staying alive when I have no one else to live for, was going to have other people looking out for me. Then I saw a motley crew of tired, scared people and giving you a safe place was second in my mind. So don't thank me, please, because my first intentions were pretty damn selfish." She glanced down. "I have a few cars around back, and the mall on the edge of town is completely deserted. We can go tomorrow and get you all some new clothes, parts for your cars, anything else you need." She turned back around to the pots on the stove.
Lori was at a loss for words, but went back to what she was doing as soon as Rick came in. She had a little more respect for Jessica now, though she still wasn't sure about trusting her.
A half hour later, everyone was seated at the large table in the dining room, eating a hot meal and they felt amazing. For the first time since the CDC everyone wore a smile and chattered, though the scene seemed eerily familiar, which is why when Jessica offered wine or beer, everyone politely said no.
After everybody had eaten and realized how exhausted they were, Jessica explained the power situation. "The generator runs on gasoline, and while it's easy to go to town and get, I still try to conserve as much as I can, so I shut it off at night. There's a flashlight in every nightstand in case you can't find your way in the dark. Water runs without it. If you get cold, this is an old house, every room has a fireplace." She watched as Carl and Sophia were practically falling asleep where they stood and she grinned. "Nite." For the second time, everyone went to their rooms. Jessica cleaned up and shut off the generator, plunging the house into darkness.
