We continue to run until we can't running anymore. Me and Teddy become exhausted and stop. My lungs feels tight and hard. I gasps for air, fearing that I will lose my ability to breathe properly. Teddy leans on a tree, trying to catch her breath. She looked drained and weary like me.
"Ted, are you okay?" I ask.
Teddy gives me a silent nod.
We catch our breaths after a few minutes and we began to walk through the thick forest. I hear no Infecteds, but I keep my guard up.
We walk for hours and hours. My legs is stinging with sharp pain, I feel like I'm going to fall over out of exhaustion.
We are far away from our cabin's location. It is nighttime and we are still not at the cabin. Teddy and I decide to camp out for the night. I become hungry and pull out the cans of food I received from the settlement. I give Teddy her own can of beans and I give myself one too.
Teddy is quiet as a mouse. Teddy makes a fire. We huddles around it and eat our small meal.
"Ted, are you okay?" I ask.
Teddy doesn't give me a vocal answer and nods. At that moment, Teddy reminds me of a puzzle. I played with puzzles with Harlow when I lived with the Yeagers. I had such a difficult time trying to put everything together and would become frustrated. Harlow roams within my mind, she was basically my first "Teddy" in a sense. I wonder how she is right now. Is she hardened or is she soft and sweet as before? I will never know.
I fear Teddy will slip into a void of unhappiness and bleakness. The poor child has seen and done so much. I want Teddy to be strong and independent. I need her to survive. As I eat, I remember my past. I feel like I'm dreaming, it is hard to believe I'm free and out in the open. I thought that I would be with the Fireflies for the rest of my life. But I'm not. My new experiences has given me the feelings of optimism. I glance at Teddy, she eats slowly.
"Why did my parents leave?" Teddy's voice makes me jerk because it is sudden.
"Why…..why...are you asking that?" I stutter, taken off guard.
Teddy gives me a annoyed look. As if I was stupid. "I want to know where my parents are!" She elucidates.
I make sure my voice is gentle and soft. "I don't know. But they will be back." I lie. I force out a deceiving smile.
Teddy narrows her eyes and becomes upset. "That's not true!" She protests. My heart jerks. Why is Teddy acting like this? She has trusted my words for a long time, so why is she doubting me now?
Teddy continues to speak. She puts down her can and glares at me. "My Mommy and Daddy would never leave me. They would have told me, they were leaving." I think of the letter and the gory inside that house.
"Teddy, I promise, your parents are okay, we will find them, I promise." I continue to lie through my teeth.
"How do you know?" Teddy argues.
I am curt. "I just do. Now calm down, yelling at me will not help."
Teddy gets up with a angry huff, she looks like she wants to throw a tantrum. She doesn't, instead her face becomes red and she kicks the can of beans out of frustration with a short lived scream.
"TEDDY! ENOUGH! CALM DOWN!" I order, raising my voice.
Teddy jumps up and down, angry tears running down her face. "I want my Mommy and Daddy! I want to go home!"
I remain strict. "Calm down. Sit down." I order. Teddy stops jumping and breathes heavily. She mumbles things I ignore under her breath. Exhausted, she sits down and curls up into a ball with her head tucked. She sobs to herself.
I have no idea of how to deal with Teddy's behavior. So I resolved to be patient and strict.
"You know better than this, Teddy! Acting like this does nothing." I rebuke. Teddy mutters something foul under her breath. I decide to ignore it and I stop speaking to Teddy. I give her space and silence.
The next morning, me and Teddy barely speak to each other. We walk side by side together for hours and hours. My legs ache with pain, but I push on. Teddy hardly looks me in the eyes, she doesn't appear angry or upset. She stares at the ground with an expression I can't read. I become exhausted and breathless. I feel dizzy and lightheaded from the walking. I hear slight commotion in the distance, but I ignore it.
"INFECTED!" Teddy screams. I stop in my tracks and spin around to the screeching of a Runner charging towards us. I get in front of Teddy and aim my loaded gun and fired instantly. I'm a fairly good shot, I manage to hit him in the chest, the shoulder, and finally his head. The headshot is a fatal shot and the Runner falls dead to the ground. I can hear more and I'm not willing to take risks. I grabs Teddy's wrist and we bolt. Runners are on our tails, Teddy picks up speed, huffing and gasping for air. My heart feels like it is going to burst out of my chest at any moment.
The Runners's grunts and screams pierces my ears. They are feets away from us, but yet they sound like they're inches away.
"FAYE!" Teddy shrieks at me. I ignore her and we take a sharp turn. "FAYE! LOOK!" Teddy shrieks feverishly.
I continue to ignore her. "KEEP RUNNING!" I yell.
"I AM!" Teddy shrieks between her gasps. "I SEE...I SEE A HOUSE! LOOK!" Still running, Teddy points to the far left, I follow her finger and I do see a house in the distance.
"WE NEED TO GO THERE!" Teddy exclaims.
Silently, I agree. But I'm focused on the Runners. "We need to lose them first!" We manage to put good distances away from us, but they are still near. I look up at the sky and I want to scream out of frustration at the
Teddy is huffing, her face is beet red. "Trees! Climb a tree, hurry!" She cries. With that, Teddy yanks her hand away from me, with a burst of energy, she darts towards the first tree she lays eyes on. I run towards the same tree with my heart thundering in my chest. Teddy is quite nimble. She climbs the tree with ease and quickness. I have never climbed a tree before. I dig my nails into the tree and attempt to raise myself up, but to no avail. "HURRY!" Teddy barks.
"I AM!" I use all of my energy to pull myself up. But I barely get an inch. "FAYE, THEY'RE COMING!" Teddy wails.
Teddy's eyes are wide with tension and dread. I hear the Runners and adrenaline floods my body. I find the strength, I get a good grip on the skin of the tree and I pull myself up. I feel so light. Hastily, I pull myself to the closest branch and I plant myself on to it.
"FAYE! ARE YOU OKAY?" Teddy is above me. Her voice is strained and hysterical. She begins to hyperventilate. I look at her, she looks terrible and exhausted. It worries me to see her like this. Teddy is young, but yet must experience so much anguish.
"I'm fine." I remain calm, keeping my voice soft and precise. "Calm down, breathe slowly." The Runners are at the tree now, scratching and digging their nails into the skin of the tree. My anxiety smoothen and I focus on Teddy. She is following my orders the best she can. Teddy takes rapid gasps, trying to breathe slowly.
"Just stay calm." I tell her. "We're fine. They can't climb, remember?"
Teddy nods her head and takes in slow breaths to ease her anxiety. The Infecteds surrounds and swarms the tree for a full hour.
Eventually the Infecteds lose interest in us and they all scatter away.
I am exhausted. I feel all of my energy leave my body. I use my remaining strength to dig my nails into the branch.
"HEY!" I hear a male voice. I turn my head towards it. I see a young man. I think of Blake. He is tall with a chiseled face. He has black hair and dark eyes. In his arms was a shotgun. I imagine him shooting us. I am too weak to move at this point.
"You kids okay?" He asks us. Teddy simply stares at him. I glance at her and I believe she is thinking about Blake.
"Don't be scared. I'm friendly. I just want to help. I saw you two running away from those monsters." The man walks towards the tree. There is no malice or negativity in his voice. He sounds like he does want to help us. Our silence seems be to making him uneasy though.
"Um….do you girls need help?" He asks unsure.
Then I hear another man's voice. "John, what the fuck are you doing?" A man appears in my view and he hurry towards the other man with a shotgun. He is bald and skinny, he wears a fur coat and fur boots.
"I'm trying to help these kids." John confesses. "Give me a break, Walter."
Walter's face turns red and he gives John a hard smack on the back. "Boy, you could have gotten your ass killed! Why the fuck did you run off without telling me?"
"I want to help them." John insist. "Come on, that storm is coming!"
Walter's face softens. "Fine. But next time, tell me when you're going to do some dumb shit."
John agrees.
I'm not sure what to think of this situation. I think about the Yeagers family. I miss Nick.
John and Walter surrounds the tree. John calls out to Teddy. "Little girl, come down. Don't worry, we want to help."
Teddy is quiet for a long time, she appears thoughtful and cautious. "Who are you?" She asks, her voice is stiff and direct.
"John." John answers. He points to Walter. "This is my Uncle, Walter."
"Where do you guys live?" I squeak.
Walter points in the direction of the house we saw earlier. "We have everything you need."
Me and Teddy exchanges looks. I distrust these people. But I have no idea on what to do at this point. We're lost, we're tired, and everything is a mess right now. I climb out of the tree first and Teddy makes her way down afterwards. Then we all walk. Teddy is silent, she stays close to me and holds my hand for protection. Both of the men's backs are to us, but I don't plan to attack them. Yet.
…..
The house is two stories and wide. Next to the house is a fair sized boat. I think nothing of it and I wish to get warm. The house is amazing to look at. It is made of stone and appears sturdy. It has functioning lights and candles to light up the place. John lets me and Teddy in. Walter suddenly stops me and Teddy from entering. "Wait!" He cry. I bare my teeth, ready to rip this man's throat out. Teddy gets behind me immediately. "Wipe your feet on the mat, please. Janice will kick my ass if I get dirt on her floors." With that, Walter steps on the doormat and gets all of the dirt off of his shoes before entering the living room. We do the same.
The insides of the house is tastefully designed. The windows and floors were polished. There is a wide living room with plush carpets, there is a beautiful kitchen with clean dishes and shiny counters. I have never seen a place so nice and tidy.
John gives us a tour of the house. "We have plenty of rooms for you girls. Do you want to share a room or be separate?"
"We're not staying here for long." I snap.
John's eyes widen. "I know, but you still need a room.."
I feel bad for snapping at him like that, but I don't show it. "Share." I say curt.
John is quick to move on and he smiles. "Good." Then he takes us upstairs and escorts us to a large bedroom. A bedroom with a bunk bed and two drab dressers.
"Thank you." Teddy says sweetly.
John smiles in return. "Janice will fix up dinner in alittle bit."
"Who is that?" Teddy inquires.
"A good friend of ours. She is really nice and a great cook." John answers.
Then John leaves us in there.
I am so conflicted. I will never understand compassion. I have been show kindness so many times only for it to backfire in my face. I do not trust these people, but I don't have the desire to hurt them in anyway.
Me and Teddy get settled and wait for dinner. It is nighttime, when we finally meet Janice. John calls us downstairs and we arrive at the dinner table.
"Hello, my name is Janice." The woman extends out her hand to me. She was a middle aged woman in her late 40s. She has pale skin and brown eyes, She has dirty blonde hair and a round face.
I shake her hand. "I'm Faye." I force out a sweet smile.
Janice extends her hand to Teddy and Teddy shakes it quickly. "My name is Teddy." Janice beams. "You are such a beautiful young lady." Janice gushes.
"Thanks." Teddy smiles. A clap of thunder shakes the house. The rain is now heavier than before, I turn my head to look out the nearest window, I see trees being violently swayed by rapid winds.
"Don't worry, Faye. This house is sturdy enough for storms." Janice reassures.
Teddy appears worried. "Do you think our cabin is okay?" She asks me.
I lie. "Of course." To be honest, I have no idea of knowing. I can only hope the others are safe.
"Looks like a hurricane to me. Probably a flood is coming next." Walter suggest.
"WALTER! Enough, you're scaring the children." Janice rebukes. Walter shuts up after that. John chuckles amused. "Whipped." He croaks out.
Then Janice serves us dinner. Corn, beans, potatoes, rice, and a loaf of beard. I am ravenous and I dig in. The food is delicious and well done.
"This meal is amazing, Janice." Walter compliments. Janice flashes him a broad smile. Outside Walter's comment become reality. I look outside out of curiosity to see rapid streams of dirty water rushing around us. Teddy gasps in horror.
"Damn, flash flood." Walter mutters.
"Well, um...you girls aren't going anywhere anytime soon." John says.
"No! Daphne! She needs her medicine. She's sick! She needs our help!" Teddy wails.
"Calm down, Ted." I whisper, I put a warm hand on her shoulder to calm her down. I'm afraid for Daphne and the others as well, but I did not like seeing Teddy acting hysterical.
John and Walter are unsettled by Teddy's change in behavior, but did not say anything. I am upset by this entire situation. I can only hope Daphne is okay. Perhaps she's healing without the meds. Maybe. I can only hope. I feel like the world is mocking me again. But there's nothing I can do now. After I finish my meal, I escort Teddy upstairs.
"What about Daphne? What about Xander? Red?" Teddy inquires.
"Teddy, trust me. I'm worried too. But we just need to be patient. Everything will be fine." I open the door and we head into our bedroom. Janice seems to be correct on the firmness of the house, flooding water makes the forest look like a large lake. The water is deep and rough. The powerful gusts blows debris into the air.
"HELP!" I hear a sharp cry from outside. It is close to the house. I look outside and I see a young girl and a woman clinging to a lone tree branch as they are being swept away in the flood. "PLEASE! HELP!" The girl and the woman are close to the house, when they miraculously bump into a nearby tree that is struggling to stay planted.
"WALTER, GET YOUR BOAT!" I hear John yell at the top of his lungs. Then I hear heavy footsteps downstairs. I look outside, the tree branch is pressed against the other tree, I can barely see the girl through the window as the rain and fog is making it difficult.
Teddy is looking out of another window nearby and I go to that one. I see through the window slightly better. The two are still clinging to the branch for dear life, the woman appears sickly pale and limp. The girl is screaming and struggling to not sink into the deep, rapid water. The rough waves are not helpful, the two are hit many times, at one point, the girl loses her grip and slips under for a few seconds, then she pops back up, gasping for air.
Teddy gasps. "Faye, look!" Then I see Walter and John on their boat, they sail near the two and is able to scoop them up one by one. Then the boat sails back to the house.
Teddy begins to make her way downstairs and I follow her. "You think they're okay?" Teddy asks me.
I shrug. "Hopefully." We make it towards the first step of the stairs to see Janice hastily opening the front door to let in Walter and John inside. John carries in the shivering, soaked girl and Walter carries the pale looking woman. I get a better look at them. The young girl looks near my age, she is taller Daphne and Teddy, but one foot shorter than me. She has dark brown hair that is tied into a unkempt single, side braid. She is skinny and slender. Her eyes were bright blue. She reminds me of Alexa and Scarlett. The girl is wearing a purple long sleeves shirt and blue jeans. She has small scar on her forehead that looks somewhat fresh. I get closer to them and I see the woman is severely wounded. Her arms has deep gashes and the side of her head is a soaked with blood. The woman looks to be in her late 30s, she has tan skin, her black hair is tied into a ponytail, and her eyes are narrow and dark. She appears malnourished and thin. Janice disappears into a nearby room and returns with thick blankets.
Janice lays the blankets on each of them. The woman is unconscious. The young girl is slipping in and out of consciousness.
"We should check them for bites." Walter suggests.
Janice shakes her head. "Later, these two need rest and a warm bed." Janice declares.
John comes to Walter. "Walt is right, we should check them first."
Janice points a finger upstairs. "Put them to bed first." She insist. They obey her and me and Teddy watches in silence as the men carry the two upstairs and into a bedroom.
Janice stays behind and prepares to make soup for the two new "guests."
"Can I help?" Teddy asks.
Janice smiles and allows Teddy to help her. Teddy convinces me to join them. I think of the girl and the woman. Are they infected? That thought frightens me. I ponder about the woman. Why did she have so many wounds on her? Is she dying? This is a bizarre event for me. And that's saying something.
I clear the dinner table and give the dishes to Teddy. Janice chops up vegetables and puts them into a boiling pot. Once she is done, Janice pours the soup into two separate bowls and orders me and Teddy to give it to them.
We scurry with the warm bowls upstairs and into the two's bedroom. Walter is tucking in the young girl who is now alert and is staring directly at the woman. John does the same to the woman, but doesn't put the blankets on her wounded arms.
"We brought food for you." Teddy says.
"SHHH!" Walter hushes. "Not so loud." Ironically he is loud when he is saying this.
Despite the irony, Teddy becomes quiet and we place the bowls onto a nearby dresser.
"Hi, kid." John asks the young girl. "What happened? You think you'll make it?"
The young girl is too weak to speak right now and nods her head.
"Let her rest, first." Walter rebukes.
"Are they infected?" I inquire.
Walter shakes his head. "They're fine. I looked at them. No bites."
John turns to us. "It's late. You two should go to bed."
Teddy opens her mouth to protest, but I grab her wrist and interrupt her. "Good idea." Then I drag Teddy out the door, head into our bedroom and sleep.
…...
The storm is still raging when we wake up the next morning. It is early in the morning, when I am about to wake up Teddy. Then I hear muffled voices, curious, I exit the room and I discover that the woman is awake and alert. Walter, John, and Janice gather around her, trying to get enough information as possible from her.
The young girl is soundly asleep.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. We're good people." Janice reassures her.
"What's your name?" John asks.
"Sarah." Her voice is strained and shaky.
"Well do you remember what happened?" John probes.
Sarah goes into a sudden coughing fit, Janice gives her a helpful pat on the back, until Sarah stops coughing.
"So what happened?" John repeats.
"We got lost. We were camping out in the forest when the storm hit."
"Were you two heading somewhere particular?" Walter asks. "I'm asking because there's nothing but Infecteds and trees around here." He quickly adds.
"A Firefly base in Canada." Sarah sighs. My heart jumps when I hear "firefly" and I think of Winters. I push my thoughts back into my mind.
Walter nods. "So what happened to you?"
"I got attacked by some raiders. Laura and I barely escaped them." Sarah answers.
"That explains that scar on her head." John expresses.
Sarah shakes her head. "No. That was from way later. Laura and I got attacked by someone and she suffered a head injury." She corrects.
Janice gives her a compassionate look. "God bless you." She mutters. "Is she functioning well?"
Sarah releases a heavy sign of exhaustion. "Partially. She developed amnesia from that injury."
Janice's eyes widen. "She doesn't remember anything?"
"She knows her name, her age, and events that happened to us before she suffered the injury, but she can't remember much of anything after that. I'm watching over for her as long as I can." Sarah explains.
"Her memories will come back eventually." John reassures her.
Sarah continues. "Thank you for helping us. Laura and I have been together a lot since we first traveled. But once this storm passes, we need to go immediately."
"Well, you'll have to wait a long time," Walter sees me and Teddy standing the doorway. "These two have the same issue."
Sarah glances at us and forces out a weak smile. "Hello, girls. I am Sarah."
Teddy opens her mouth to say something when Walter interrupts her. "Why are you heading to Canada? You are six states away from the Canadian border." Walter probes.
Canada? What's Canada? I have never heard of that word before until now.
"There's a base there, where we will be safe. We must go to it." Sarah says urgently.
Sarah sits up and rigids with pain. "OH!" She shrieks in agony. Janice gently pushes her back down. "Do not strain yourself, Miss. You need rest."
I decide to leave the room at this point. Hearing the word "Firefly" makes me feel uneasy. It brings back dreadful memories of my past. As I pace back to my bedroom, I think to myself, I am a mixture of emotions. I'm worried for my group. Red, Daphne, and yes, even that bastard, C-101. What if they got washed away in the hurricane? I wonder about Red and C-101. I know that they can't swim. I can't. None of us were taught, none did we ever had a chance to leap into a body of water anyway. I worry about Daphne. Poor girl. Sick, far away from her loved ones, and now struck in a hurricane. My mind becomes wild, beyond my control. I imagine Daphne's lifeless body drifting in the flooding water. I see Red and C-101 screaming as they drown, their healing ability unable to save them. I am able to push myself out of my thoughts and return back to the room.
"Faye, are you okay?" Teddy is already up when I enter the room.
I flash her a false smile. "Of course."
Teddy is not convinced. I can see her doubt in her expression. "I hope the others are okay. Maybe they can swim."
At that moment, I feel a pang of relief. Finally Teddy's cheerfulness is back. I still fear that her experience with Blake would change her drastically. But at the same time, I can't predict the future.
I look out the window to see the world full of chao. The storm is still raging on, the lights begin to flickering on and off.
"We should go down for breakfast." Teddy suggests. I agree and we go.
Next chapter will be up. Hopefully this is a good one. Thank you and please give reviews.