A/N: Hope you enjoy!
The female officer looked around, adjusting her hat to hide the heat from her face. It was probably much hotter than the usual summers; the world had changed since a year ago. The loss of her sister burned her in ways she didn't imagine; only a month before this all went crazy. She was once a sherrif in a rural county in South Dakota; now in Toronto she wasn't law, but she was trying to control the group when she knew it was wrong. Most of them were 20+ year old. Only two were under 26 years old - Taylor and Lachelle. Everyone else was over 26; Josh, Jake, Pierre who was 2 years older than her and Pierre was her cousin too, Mikey. But they hadn't found Mikey's brother. They couldn't go for Los Angeles to find his brother.
Celeste knew herself that it was a dangerous mission. She had various relatives on the east coast; not just Pierre. Distant cousins; extended family. She wondered if they were alive. She helped constantly; she broke up two fights in her family right before everything went to shit. Pierre apparently had two brothers in Montreal who as far as he knew were still alive and had barriacaded themselves in a house. She kept her vigilance silently. She didn't want to speak; it attracted walkers and if Celeste raised her voice now for no reason; it would further endanger the group.
Celeste sighed, taking off her hat and walking back to the group, hearing the cussing and words being exchanged between Jake and Josh. Tense situations broke friendships that were before all of this happened. "What in the heck is going on this time?" Celeste saw them fighting.
"Josh made a sly comment about Jake's sister." Pierre said. He trusted his cousin; his eyes fluttered over to Lachelle, who smiled back at him. Celeste saw that. They'd been just married for a year when this all happened back in May. Pierre had told her when things were a little less tense.
"Josh, what the fuck's wrong with you!" Jake spouted at Josh, who promptly started shoving Jake, but Jake was 11 months 3 days older than Josh, but not as tall. Celeste just let it go, unless they got too loud or weapons came out. Josh's sidearm was hidden in the back of Josh's jeans; Celeste watched until the weapons came out, if they didn't she could let it be.
Josh promptly whirled around and hit Jake in the face. Celeste heard the tiny whoosh of air when Jake reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out his pistol; and then Celeste stepped in. Josh already had his out, and Celeste knew someone was going to shoot if she didn't step in and take the weaponry away again.
Celeste knew it was a good time to stop the fight; Josh was the kind who'd snap out. Josh had changed in a lot of ways according to Jake. They'd been arguing in a Vancouver evac center wheen she found them. There was a horde and she couldn't go blindly shooting off at walkers; she'd learned her lesson before when she lost her sister to a horde. "Josh! Jake! STOP!" Celeste said. Josh wasn't stopping or withdrawing his pistol to put it away; it was getting increasingly harder to control Josh's outbursts.
This is set in 2012, so Lennon will not exist YET. Yes, Lachelle is pregnant but isn't showing all that much to clarify something with readers. No one else really knows except for Pierre and Lachelle. You get an insight into the Josh/Jake enemy thing next chapter; a new insight into Mikey.
This is a REWRITE of Coastal Camp with real ages; added Celeste (she's a very special OC as I chose to give her a similar hair and eye color to mine- but nothing else is like me. Although Celeste's got a younger sibling she lost.)
-Lexi