Chapter 11 - Chaos
A/N We just reached the end of episode 4… I couldn't write much in it as the characters tended to stick together and the time skips weren't many… Once again Spoiler Alert for ep. 4 if you hadn't played it.
I also wanted to ask you if it is a good idea, as we all are waiting for episode 5, for me to make another story that continues this one but with my own ideas of the group's future? Huh? Sounds good? When Ep. 5 comes out, which might be in September… I don't know… I will continue Vertigo as I was already planning to, anyhow.
Now you can read... so read... and enjoy... c:
What I was feeling back there might be something that the whole group had in common. Kenny was holding Sarita so tight that the woman almost seamed suffocating, Jane had her sister's death still in her heart, Rebecca lost Alvin, Bonnie lost her family and little Sarah lost everything… so I should had realized I wasn't alone… even Luke had Nick to grief… I guess I was simply putting selfish.
"Ok… you are fucking right! Happy?! I changed and I don't like it either, I mean…. Fuck… I can't believe it… Soon as you guys said 'go', I was the first one up on the roof. Like I had already made up my mind… So I get it… I am fucked up but WHO ISN'T BY NOW!? All I did was leave him behind but I couldn't do anything else!"
Everybody's grief is different, though. Some of us would break, some of us would start hating everyone, some of us would look for a scapegoat and some of us could simply fight that war inside their own soul. Grief doesn't come easy… it is made out of loss and change and even life… it sucks and it hurts like nothing else.
"Luke, you can't let it eat away at you." Jane was much more understanding than Adeline could ever be in this position so Luke quickly got close to the woman.
"Well, I can't forget it."
The only way we can still go on after we've been hurt like this is by hoping… hoping that this pain will finally subside… that someday it won't feel this way anymore.
They soon reached the meeting point where the others were waiting. Everybody was happy for who got there and crying for who didn't… still everything happened once again so fast for Adeline… some talking there some screams elsewhere and in the end Rebecca's water broke if you can believe it!
"Ok. Mike go with Bonnie at the Museum."
"I'll check the building by the river."
"Okay, Jane. Kenny, you… uh… you stick with Rebecca. And I will check the perimeter for walkers with Adeline." Clementine ran after Jane.
They both grabbed their weapons and left. Adeline looking down at her feet she could see a few rocks, debris, glass, blood… quite ironically for the place where they were… but still as she raised her gaze not much changed, destroyed buildings and death people everywhere… that fucked up monument was the only thing on her mind right now… 'Fallen, but not forsaken" Well they are fallen and forsaken… but not what? Luke was still kind of mad at her. He was keeping his gaze fixed in front of his eyes, his lips curled in to a straight line and his eyes betraying what he felt. After some time they chose to split up… In that way they will manage to cover more ground and Luke can go and check on Clementine and Jane.
Adeline looked around for a while until boredom got the better of her so she started searching some bodies… maybe one of them would have something. Most of them didn't have much… she found a working lighter, a pack of cards… maybe they will be useful and a rusted cutter… not much… but one of them was interesting. It was a boy no more than 16 but his position was peculiar. He was simply standing leaned by a tree with his legs straight and a notebook in one of his hands… on the ground a pencil. Taking the notebook she found several scribbles of the place and a few persons. "How did you die?"
She grabbed his backpack and searching it for a bit she found more doodles and drawing utensils and an empty notebook… with a smile on her face she took his backpack, hers remained at Carver's together with her bow… dammit. As she wanted to leave she looked at his other hand… there was a straight cut at the wrist. Now she knows how he died. Sitting next to his corpse it still was a mystery why he was truly dead but his head was bald… maybe cancer? Could be a possibility because besides the wrist he was untouched. Taking out the notebook she started scratching it... it felt nice and normal to simply sit down and start drawing. A line here some erasing there and it started to gain a contour with a little sigh she raised her gaze to the horizon there were some birds were flying. It was weird because those birds should had long since left these parts of the country… maybe those aren't meant to migrate… hmm. Animals… as the world goes to shit they are still here. They aren't dumb as humans, they don't eat each other… they don t grow attached to one another… Another draw… she was making just quick sketches nothing too special… if she was to die like this boy here drawing she couldn't be mad. At least he left one nice suicidal note she thought as she went through his sketches.
As she was adding the last details on her draw a moan stopped her. Raising her gaze she could see the horde from before making its way towards her and the group. Running as hard as she could she soon found Kenny which of course wasn't happy that she came this late to warn them?
"Ok... Mike take the water I'll take care of Sarah." The girl was already panicking so when Adeline reached her she had to take her bridal style. All of them went after Clementine to reach the place Jane found. Adeline let the girl down to stay with Clementine and ran up to see if the safety of the place is really that true. Well the fun thing is what she found wasn't what she expected.
"Well that's about as human as I've felt in a long time…"
"Ohh… So I was that bad? Tsk, tsk… Sorry Luke, I really feel bad now."
"Del? Adeline… Jesus, Del. It's not…. Um. We were just…"
"I don't care what you and your little fuck buddy are doing… we've got other problems." And Rebecca screaming just proved the truth in the woman's words.
"Fuck buddies?...Wait… what's goin' on?" Soon the others came rushing in with Kenny angry shitless.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Well you got one word right." Explained Adeline as she was taking a gun from Mike.
"Kenny! What's goin'on?"
"We've got GOD-knows-how-many walkers out there which YOU were supposed to be keeping an eye out for."
"What about…" He looked at Adeline which gave him the kind of stare that meant something like 'don't you dare!'…"Hey, hold on a second… Just tell me what's goin' on!"
"What's going on is you're a reckless fucking moron!"
"I'M reckless?! You know, you got a lotta nerve, Kenny!"
"Ok… it might have been my fault as well so let's not point fingers here." Adeline made an attempt at calming the two only to get Kenny on to her now as well. Good luck with Clementine which interrupted him.
"Rebecca's having the baby!"
And so the chaos started again as the walkers made their way up the stairs. Quickly Mike managed to close the gate and as the others attempted to barricade it they succeeded in making half of the deck collapse together with Sarah, Jane and Adeline. What was the most hurtful for the woman was the fact that the one Luke caught was Jane. Down between the debris it took a while for Adeline to get her consciousness back. Her vision was blurry as she hit her head hard but soon Sarah's screams and the walkers making their way towards them woke her up. She shot a few of the things that were getting closer to her but remaining with no bullets left she had to resort to her dagger. She jumped at Sarah to get her out but the poor girl was stuck under the deck.
"ADELINE! LEAVE HER THERE!" Screamed Jane followed by Luke which simply extended his hand towards the woman.
"There is no chance for her." She wasn't about to give in... Nobody was going to die today so she kept trying until a lurker grabbed her shoulder. She stabbed him right in the head but this woke her up… there was no chance for Sarah.
"I am sorry." She then stabbed the poor girl right between her tearful terrified eyes. "I am really SORRY!" Running up the side of the collapsed deck with Luke's help she managed to reach the others once again.
Quickly Clementine got the rest of the deck down and they were finally safe. Breathing hard the woman crashed on the wooden floor. Her legs were dangling at the edge as the only thing she could see in front of her eyes was the sun and a few birds flying in the distance. The others were preoccupied with Rebecca and the baby she just gave birth to… seems to be a boy.
Her tears rolled once again on her check… as she remembered Sarah's bloodshot eyes, widen in shock petrifying her on the spot. "Dammit!"
Déjà vu! She already lived all of this crap! She already knows how it is to lose everybody one by one… she always felt the pain something like this can bring you! And she would be able to get past it once again but this time there are other people, other stories crashed, and other souls despairing. Before she could break again she grabbed her backpack and started sketching. She had the picture right in front of her eyes so she simply drew.
Everybody went inside and she was happy to be left alone as she simply sketched… until the sun went down she simply scribbled that notebook until she thought she was about to break it. All the others went to sleep one by one leaving only Kenny awake, he was silent for a change. Then Luke came in to the picture which sat next to her.
"Is that Nick?"
"If you have to ask… I should feel bed."
"No… no… it's really good… It looks like him." He grabbed her backpack to find the notebook in there.
"Everybody's here…"He almost whispered as he went through the draws. 'Carlos… Sarah… even Pete. Is this Carver?"
"It's like an illustrated diary ok?"
"Still… Carver?"
"He has a perky face. Nic ebone structure..."
"PERKY!?" He started laughing quite uncontrollable, so hard that it even made Adeline laugh. "Perky face? Really?!" As he went through the sketches he found a one with himself… smiling. Adeline quickly grabbed it. His eye brows shot to the sky at her sudden insecurity. Shrugging he left to get some sleep. Realizing how late it must be and how much worst the next days will be Adeline realized just how much rest she needs as well. Getting up from her spot on the broken deck she almost fell off of it. Her hand came to her waste, her face contorted in pain. She almost escaped a scream of pain. Knowing the next one she won't be able to hide she opened the gate next to their little spot and ran down the stairs almost falling at the last step. Slowly sitting on the floor she was free to look at what happened. Raising her shirt she could see on her side a huge area of a deeply dark purple color. "Shit!" She knew what that meant and if it was as serious as she was afraid it is she was a goner…
"That looks painful." Jane was there for some reason.
"Don't worry for me."
"Hey… I am not your enemy…"The woman offered Adeline a small bottle of pills.
"Vicodin? I'm no Doctor House."
"Doctor House or not they will help with that."
"Thx I guess…"
Jane waved her goodbye and went on her way. After a few minutes in which the pills were making their effect Adeline managed to get up and go back up only to meet up with Luke and Kenny screaming at each other. She brushed them off as the only thing she needed right now was sleep.
"Adeline… Wake up!"
"What is it Luke?"
"We have to go look for some food…"
"Take Bonnie."
"She already left with Mike… Del... Wake up!"
"Fine… fucking fine!"
The sun was barely visible but the woman was on her way with Luke to look for food. They went back to the small moving houses Park where of course they found Nick again, but nothing special happened; they simply went past him as if he was just some other corpse… which he actually was. Looking around they found one of the houses with a solar to still have some energy so looking in it they also found some frozen food in the freezer… too bad it still was bad. Looking around they were lucky to find some clothes… including a really nice leather coat which Adeline, being in only her tank top, took.
"Ok… we should move on… there is nothing here."
"Ok…"
The other places didn't have much either until Luke found several packs of those instant soups. The kind in which you add some boiled water and they are done.
"Well… they expired a year ago." Adeline took one of those to look at it.
"Looks like it but take a look at the ingredient… what could expire in this thing is too little for us to care…"
"I guess you're right." They packed it and went on their way to the next place. The other houses were kind of empty so they choose to turn back.
"At least we got the soup… it should make a decent meal."
"If they are good."
"Right now I would eat that rotten chicken chest we found… so these should be better."
"True."
When they reached the others the tension between the group was still there. Kenny was angry that we chose to stay for a few days. They soon started a fire and started preparing the food. Good Adeline took a pot and some bowls… she forgot to take some spoons but fingers could always do the trick. Rebecca was looking worse as the days passed so soon Kenny took everybody to reach one of the cities nearby…
It has been snowing since they got to the Observation Deck but now the temperature was really low, the wind was hard and cold like a claw up anyone's spine and on the ground there was a thin blanked of snow formed… Maybe they should had left when Kenny wanted… but what's in the past stays in the past.
As they were walking Adeline could feel the cold penetrating her flesh to the bones… there was one good thing about this fact… she felt numb. Still pulling at her 'new' coat she observed how hard she was shivering. She started rubbing her hands and arms to reveal some of that pain in her fingers but in vain, yet she didn't give up as a small white smoke came out of her mouth on to her palms. After a few attempts she started looking around… everything gained this touch of white… Her feet were cold and wet… sneakers weren't the best choice out in the snow… the proof being her tingling, burning toes. The only thing showing her that they were getting closer was the soft crunches of the snow and the squelch of her wet socks and boots as she walked after the others. Her voice occasionally let out a small 'shh' trembled as a shock on her spine shot her. Her teeth clattered and her eyes started to get moist as another blast of that merciless wind overcame her exhausted body.
Looking at the others they weren't doing that good either… Everybody was exhausted and cold and… so many other things. Adeline looked in specially at Rebecca which wasn't doing well whatsoever… she was at the point of breaking… the others are trying to help her but there isn't really anything to do more…
"You ok?" The woman was taken a bit by surprise when Luke asked her that. Since they left he had this scowl on his face and slowly as they went on his back hunched and his fingers clawed by the rifle in his hands… maybe they froze on it or something?
"I am cold."
"Yeah… You have the thinnest clothes… good we found that coat…" He looked down at her bare legs. "We'll need to find you some jeans or something… fucking Bill to give you these shorts."
"Hey… I am ok… I don't feel my legs anymore so I am good."" She tried to laugh but it turned out more in to a hoarse cough…" I am good… don't worry for me…"taking a look at Rebecca she continued. "Others are worse…"
"I hear you." As he said this the woman, exhausted, fell, slipping on an icy surface. Her muscles, weakened by the blood loss and the bitter cold, gave way under her, leaving Rebecca hopeless in the snow. Mike helped her on a tire nearby, and there is where she stayed, too tired and worn out to move.
"She's exhausted. We all are." Now Luke as ready to have another quarrel with Kenny. "We shoulda stayed put. We shoulda stayed put until she was in a better shape."
"We stayed for far too long anyway… she wasn't gonna get no better back there. We gotta find food, get her someplace warm."
"This look like someplace warm to you?"
"Hey! I said we shoulda left right away, instead of waitin' around. We could have been in that city days ago! "
"WE did the right thing. She was in no condition to move… we shoulda stayed at least a couple days more!"
"She's worse now! What are you talkin' about?"
They continued their useless quarrel until Bonnie warned everybody about a kid in the distance. Soon a boy turned in to a dozen of armed men and what is worse… that dozen turned in to a chaos and when Kenny shot Rebecca it truly unleashed…
A/N In the end as we make this pause I wanted to Thank all the people that favorite, followed and reviewed my story… so… ehh… Thank you… I guess… I am an awkward penguin and I can't believe you liked my story so I really appreciated your kind words… And I also thank the persons that read and enjoyed the story but didn't have time to do any of those three above… I am like you guys… I am a lazy fuck and I don't often show my appreciation to the writers :D but I really love some of the fanfictions here and I hope I am seen in the same way by you. :))