A/N Hey guys! Did ya miss me? No? You never do… Never mind my lonely life! I got some news! I'M GETTING MY BRACES OFF TOMORROW!
Three fudging years, people! They gots to go! I can't STAND them anymore!
I'm about to get my braces off, I'm half a month from turning fourteen, and I'm graduating middle school soon. YAY!
Anyway, enough about me, REVIEW TIME!
Batman: Because the group is too stupid to handle themselves without her.
Cristina: Please always helps! I bet you'll like this chapter!
FUN FACT! This story was inspired when I was roleplaying to make some future scenes in The Colors In Hell, and from the fact I wanted an important female character to have a baby to care for who was still growing up herself. BOOM! You got Christina and Spinning Heads!
LET'S CONTINUE!
I spent the night in the woods, but I barely slept. I was on and off with keeping watch, considering I was the only one who could. I've never been alone before, and I'm not including Gabriella, because the best she can do is be adorable. I had to care for both of us at the same time where I was still growing up myself.
I was still thinking about Nick, feeling gloomy because I didn't get to talk to him. I knew it was stupid, but I couldn't stop thinking about our handholding issue. My brain was telling me it was accidental and I was stressing too much. But my heart was saying something else, I couldn't tell what.
I wanted to go back, I really wanted to return. But I just couldn't. They wanted me gone and I needed to protect Gabriella. This was about survival, what I want isn't part of all this now.
I trudged on through the woods, in search of something that may be useful. I finally came across a clearing, and a small stream running down the middle of it. I jogged over, but I realized my hopes got the best of me.
The whole area had scattered bodies everywhere. And not hollow bodies, humans. I didn't recognize anyone, but each of them were covered in bullet holes. At least one of the bullets on each body was located in the head. This was the work of a group, and not like those bandits that attacked me and Clementine, a group of men of tainted minds…pure evil. Suddenly, the hollows didn't seem so bad.
"Holy…sh*t…" I finally said.
I tripped over a few bodies while walking, a few of them were actually dead hollows, but I wasn't complaining. I just felt awful for the poor bastards that just died for no real reason. I didn't know why I was walking through all this mess, whoever did this might come back, and that would NOT be pleasant!
I was about to just turn away and run, but one body in particular caught my eye. It was leaning against a rock, hollows collapsed around him, and a bullet hole in the back of his head. I kneeled in front of him, and whispered his name.
"Pete…"
I didn't know Pete well, but I defiantly liked him. He and Sarah were my favorite out of the group of survivors. Both were kind and funny, but Pete was slightly perverted with his jokes. I couldn't complain though, I made dirty jokes all the damn time.
It felt wrong to leave him there, like I did my parents. I didn't have anything to dig with, so I couldn't bury him. Instead, I gathered up a sh*t ton of pebbles from the shore, and placed them around Pete's body. Time flew by, even though I'm sure I spent almost an hour doing this.
Once I was finished, I mumbled one last thing to him, "Rest in peace, Pete." With that, I started to walk away.
I had forgotten which way I had come, so I just went around Pete's body, and into the woods on the other side of the stream. I didn't have to walk for long before I heard some hollows.
At first, I wanted to creep off and hope they wouldn't hear and follow me. But another part wanted to kill any hollow nearby so the wouldn't find their way to Pete's body and feed off of it. I know he's dead, but he's still fresh meat.
I headed in the direction of the moaning, making sure I could keep Gabriella safe. I suddenly realized this would be the first time Gabriella's ever been in a hollow's presence. Well…the sooner the better.
I came to another clearing, but not one nearly as large as the one I had found Pete in, not even the cabin sized big. It was a tiny clearing with some old, worn, cellar smack in the middle of it. Only two hollows roamed in the area, nothing major.
I decided I should give the cellar a good going over, maybe there was something useful in there. I drew out my knife, and prepared to single-handedly take out these two hollows.
I quickly threw my knife into the standing hollow's head, piercing into its skull. I still cringed at the sound of the cracking bones. The other hollow was seated by the door, so I jogged over to the dead hollow and yanked the knife out of his head.
The other hollow, which seemed to be female, had risen to her feet and started to shuffle towards us. I didn't hesitate to send my knife flying right into her skull as well. I sighed as I walked over to retrieve my knife.
Once it was back in its socket, I took a look at Gabriella. She seemed to be in a trance, staring up at me with dreamy eyes. As much as I wanted to leave, I pushed the door to the cellar open.
The whole cellar was empty, of people anyway. My eyes traveled the room, and I could only assume it was an abandoned wine cellar. A still, boxes of wine grapes, empty jars of beer, and…a body?
I took a few steps into the cellar to get a closer look at it. I froze as my heartbeat increased. The face of the body raced through my mind, in search of a match. I quickly set Gabriella in an empty chair and rushed to his side.
I violently shook him, "Nick? Nick, wake up, dammit!" I heard a low groan come from his body, and I immediately reached for my gun. I didn't aim at Nick, but I turned the safety off just in case. I spoke to him once more, "Nick…?"
His eyes slowly pried themselves open; thankfully they were still icy blue. He looked upon me, as if trying to remember me. "Luke…?" he mumbled. I bit my lip to keep from laughing, "No Nick, it's me, Christina."
Nick put his head down, which was unfortunately on my lap. "Christina…" he moaned. "Where is Christina?" I saw five empty jars scattered around him. I picked one up and read the print on it. "Moonshine," I whispered to myself. I recognized it as a type of Whiskey, one that burns a lot. I put two and two together, Nick was drunk. Or at least he was and he was recovering.
Nick moaned my name again, and I realized I wasn't gonna be able to convince him who I was, so I went with the truth, "She…uh…she left." Nick's eyes widened a little as he stared at me. Then, he placed his hands over his face.
"Sh*t…" he swore silently. I felt a pang in my heart, like what I said was like a kick to his stomach. Did he really want me to stay? Why?
Maybe he likes me…
No! Neither of us could possibly have feelings for each other. I pushed my thoughts to the back of my head. I knew it was wrong, but I had to use his state to my advantage. "Why did you hold my…I mean…Christina's hand yesterday?" He gave me a look of confusion, and I partially hoped he wouldn't realize it was me.
Nick just shrugged, "I dunno…she grabbed mine first. I knew it was an accident, but I just…I couldn't just pull away." I let that sink in for a minute. Did he hold my hand because he thought he would offend me if he didn't? That would mean he just didn't want to hurt people's feelings. I don't know why, but my heart sunk at the thought.
I forgot who Nick thought I was, and I asked, "Are you like that with all the girls you meet?" Nick sighed, "If all the girls were like Christina, it'd be different." I swallowed, feeling on edge. "How so?" I asked carelessly. Nick finally sat up, and I hoped he still wouldn't recognize me.
Nick rested his elbows on his knees. He looked to be lost in thought. My heart pounded, like a fist trying to punch its way through my chest. Nick looked to be searching his head for an answer. Finally, he found one.
"Well she's…" Nick started, "she's not like other girls. She doesn't give a sh*t about what she appears to be to other people. She's not wreckless, but she's not uptight." That wasn't totally true, I could be very uptight at times.
Nick continued, "She's insanely badass, I mean, she kicked five grown men with weapons asses on her own. And even after her parents died, she's pulled herself through to protect that kid she has. She defended that little girl we found in the woods. No other girl I've ever known could ever be a match for her."
I felt my cheeks go warm; I didn't try to hide my flattery. I wanted to thank Nick and hug him. But he kept talking to me to my surprise. But this time, guilt ran through me.
"I kinda wanted to push her more just to see what it took for her to break. But I think of myself compared to her. She and I have lost about the same, but I'm the only broken who was broken. The way she yelled at me, I thought she already was. But she was really stronger. I guess I was just…jealous."
I felt like crying; he hand no reason to be jealous of me. I spoke with a raspy voice, "She was bent, not broken. When she lost people she loved…she used her sister and…she just learned to love again." (P!nk reference!) Nick shut his eyes, "I wish I could do that."
Nick's eyes didn't open, his chest simply and slowly rose and fell, like he was sleeping. It wasn't long before he slumped over, actually sleeping. I glanced at Gabriella, making sure she was both there and alive. She was admiring the rusty ceiling, absent-mindedly.
After checking, I moved over to Nick. I gently lifted his head off the cold, hard stone and rested it in my lap again. I softly lifted his hat off his head, and ran my fingers through his long, messy hair. I broke my own belief and let myself become close to him.
A/N BOOM! I just shot you all right in the feels! I so funny! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, sorry if it was a bit rushed…hopefully all that damn cuteness made up for it! Please leave a review, I'd really appreciate it! Take Luck!
ROBIN OUT!
