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Couple of busy weeks, that's all I'm going to say. I'm trying to get back to the weekly uploads. K bye.

(Disclaimer; I do not own the concept of TWD)

Enjoy! ;)

Chapter 21: Daisy

Her name was Daisy. The first time I ever saw her was during a soccer game at school. She was there playing as the only girl among the boys. And she was kicking ass. Probably the most promising player in the entire region.

She was in the factory. I'd seen her briefly, chained together with some other walkers. She wore the same clothes she wore at the last day of school. She died in those clothes.

When we escaped, I wanted to go back for her. Do her a last and final favour. She deserved it, for being the most beautiful and boyish girl I'd ever known. But there was no time. And I'd regret it for the rest of my life.

But at the time we were running through the main hall towards the exit, with walkers around every corner and only grasping a few inches from our skins, I had no idea things would get even worse. At the end of the day, we'd lose another one of our little group.

I'd probably known it already when Keith and Abby cracked open my cell. Keith, whom I'd only heard from, looked a lot cooler than I imagined. He thanked me, for taking care of Abby for so long. And without saying, he asked if I could do that for a while longer.

Because he was bit.

"Let's go" he murmured, eying me. "You said there were more in here?"

I nodded, glancing sideways at Abby, who stared into the floor. "Yeah. Tyler's next door, and there were two others from Aiden's group in the other block."

"That's all of them?"

Abby caught me staring, and I quickly focused on Keith again. "For as far as I know."

"Good" Keith said, stepping outside the cell. "Because we don't have any time to waste."

He already went over to the next door, but I hesitated. Abby seemed to remain in shock, which I could understand. Keith was the last remaining of her family. I think he knew about his mom just by seeing Abby's face.

I halted at the doorstep, trying to catch her eyes, but she tried her hardest to avoid me.

For as long as I'd known her, I'd felt awkward around Abby. She seemed so strong and always seemed to know what she was doing or what was coming. Seeing her in this state made it feel as if all her strong assets were forced onto me. But I couldn't carry them. I needed her to do that. There was no balance without her.

So I decided for the direct contact and grabbed her hand. She finally looked up. "Max…"

I forced myself a little smile. "Come on. Let's get going."

She blinked, and finally there was some light in her. I felt a wave of relief hitting the shores, which got quickly replaced by an uncomfortable feeling as we were still holding hands.

Of course, she didn't seem bothered by it, because she was too careless to be bothered. But I was.

As long as she wasn't ready to let go, I wouldn't either. So There we were, walking hand in hand, over to her legal guardian bashing open a cell door.

"Get back!" Keith shouted, as he gave that poor door its final blow. It flew back, hitting the wall at the other end. Tyler emerged from the rising dust, his forehead covered in blood. For some reason, he seemed really calm. He even strolled over to Keith and shook hands.

"Thanks, bro. Tyler."

"Keith. You wounded?"

Tyler shrugged. "Meh, as long as I can get outta here, I can stand."

A grin appeared on Keith's face, which was covered in sweat. When I looked closer, I could see his eyes were surrounded by dark circles. It was clear the fever had already started taking its toll. And I knew Abby saw it too. And Keith saw her looking.

"Next door" he said, his grin disappearing. He quickly moved his face away from his sister. Abby squeezed my hand.

"This one?" Keith asked, his back still turned on us as he pointed at a door. I nodded. He started bumping on it with his fists, and I could see it was tiring. "Hey, anyone in there?"

I looked at Abby, and I knew I couldn't let go just yet. Luckily, Tyler stepped in. I then realized he hadn't mentioned the bite wound in Keith's neck. It was almost impossible not to notice. But then again; what good is it to remind a wounded person that they are wounded?

The two guys were able to crack open the door. Keith immediately stepped back, leaning against the wall. As he was panting his entire body trembled. He was really at the end of his rope.

"Hello?" Tyler said, as he stepped inside the cellblock. I saw two shadows emerging from the ground, as if they had sat there stacked away. First there was a bigger shadow, which I assumed was a grown man. Behind him moved a slimmer shadow, almost similar to Abby. When they stepped out of the dust, I felt cold.

Abby had let go of my hand, and I could hear her gasp as she too came to the realization of who this man was.

"Menthis…" she mumbled, her voice almost a whisper. Keith seemed alarmed by his sister saying that name. He quickly straightened his back, and with more power than he possessed at the moment he jumped onto Menthis. He grabbed the man by his collar and dragged him out of the cell. With a groan he threw the man on the ground. Menthis did not attempt to fight back in any way.

He only desperately tried to protect his face with his hands as Keith was kicking him.

"You. Piece. Of. Fucking. Shit!" With every kick that landed on Menthis, Keith spoke a word. Tyler didn't attempt to pull him back. No, all he did was cross his arms and watch.

The slimmer shadow, who was still inside the cell, came rushing out. It was actually a girl, a little younger than ourselves. As soon as she saw what was going on, she started crying. She was rather thin and didn't seem very strong, so the attempts to stop Keith were hopeless.

"No, please, stop! Please, why are you doing this? Stop it, please!"

Menthis still didn't fight back. Keith's breathing got heavier. From the corner of my eye, I saw Abby kneeling down. She slid one hand in her boot. Wouldn't be a surprise if she'd hidden a knife in there.

I just stood there, as always. The people around me were the responsible, reasonable, rational ones. I was the calm one who didn't really know what was going on, but didn't panic either. A thing I always liked to do in a situation like this is to number and list the problems to get a clearer view. Or at least, I get that.

So, here we go:

1. Keith is bit.

Keith was in the military and was probably our best shot at survival. Together with Tyler, he seemed unstoppable. But with the mark of death in his neck, not only him, but us too would be doomed. Or…just…sort of.

2. Menthis, the guy who took over our safe haven and turned kids into soldiers AND killed and kidnapped most of the military, was in this factory with us.

The weird thing was that he didn't fight back. He seemed more like…well, me, I guess. Something was off. And also; how the hell did he get there?

3. This girl.

Who was she? And why was she defending a monster like Menthis? I didn't remember seeing her in the camp or anything. She must've come from someplace else.

4. Abby 's mental state.

Abby had her knife already in her hands, with the intent to kill Menthis with it. She was clearly not thinking it through.

5. We still weren't out of the factory, which was the originally the plan.

We had no idea how to get out, without stumbling upon a room full walkers.

"OK" I said out loud, and Abby frowned at me. "Alright. That's enough, I think."

I carefully stepped over to Keith, who was panting his lungs out. The girl kept sobbing, kneeling down next to Menthis as I pulled Keith away. I didn't need to use force at all, he was too weak to resist.

Menthis looked like shit. He coughed blood, his face was swollen and his eyes shut. The girl softly placed his head in her lap, wiping the blood out of his eyes.

I helped Keith sit down against the wall, glancing at Abby before turning my back on her. "Well, did that satisfy you?"

Keith spat on the ground. "Shut up."

I stood up. "Works for me."

"You" Menthis spat, raising his bloody arm. "Max, right?"

I felt Abby's eyes on me, and I knew she didn't like me to answer. But then again; she's not my mom.

"Yeah. What do you want?"

Menthis cleared his throat, and eyed the crying girl for a second. "You're probably wondering what I'm doing here. Correct?"

Tyler frowned, and I could see he'd like to smash the guy's head in just as much.

"To a certain extent, yes" I replied. I felt all eyes on me, which made me seriously anxious. "And there's more I'd like to know about you… 'Menthis'."

The guy swallowed, as if his throat was thick as well. This time, he didn't look at the girl. "Ask away. I'll answer as close to the truth as I can."