Sky Meadows State Park. The sign was still in tact, the letters written in a chipping white paint that stood out amongst a sea of brown. Marilyn felt an excitement brewing in her chest at the idea that Nina and Simon might be somewhere nearby to provide them with stability for the first time in what felt like forever. She knew the feeling must have been magnified for Negan having spent all of his time in the dark, damp cell. At the same time she knew that their drive couldn't have been more than a half hour leaving the people of Rick's community within a reachable distance. Still, no one had any idea where she and Negan might be going.
"This place has some fuckin' land to it," Negan explained, "If I'm remembering correctly."
"You know this place?"
"Used to fuckin' fish here once in awhile... a long time ago."
Marilyn nodded and looked around. "Simon said something about cabins."
Negan thought for a moment and looked around before pressing on down the dirt road that led into the ground of the Virginia state park. His eyes scanned the area. Walkers were sporadically scattered about an open field just beyond the entrance sign and he assumed they littered the woods nearby. With lethargic aggression they extended their arms and turned their bodies in pursuit of the vehicle that they would never be able to catch.
"What kind of car was Simon driving?" Negan asked as they passed by the field and in through an archway of trees that progressed deeper into the park.
"Black truck." Marilyn glanced out the window as a walker near the road reached for the car.
Negan rested a hand on her knee upon seeing her worried expression. "We're alright."
"Yeah I know."
He gave a quick wink and looked ahead as they hit a fork in the road. In front of them were more signs that were printed with yellow writing on top of stained wood. They all gave a direction for one thing or another, each complete with a panted yellow arrow. The one that Negan's eyes landed on was the second one down that read CAMPING in bold letters with an arrow pointing to the right.
"Try going right?" he asked. "Simon said they were looking for cabins."
Marilyn glanced out the windshield at a walker that was coming their way. "Sure."
Negan cut the wheel to the right and hit the gas, knocking the walker down with the left side bumper. "See... no fuckin' problem doll. Let's just hope no one else is occupying the space here."
"Yeah..."
The dirt road twisted and turned through the woods. An oversized outhouse made itself known first, it's structure comprised of stone and the same dark brown wood as the signs. On the side of the building closest to them there was a sign that read WOMEN attached next to a door.
"I wonder what fresh hell is in that fuckin' building," Negan thought aloud.
Marilyn noted an old charcoal grill tipped on its side and what looked like the remnants of a fire pit enclosed with stones. It reminded both of them of how dead the world was outside of the communities they'd been a part of. They were starting all over again.
Don't ruin it, Marilyn told herself. Negan is alive, you're alive. We'll find another community or survive here for awhile... I hope.
When the first cabin came into view Negan slowed the car down to a halt. It sat way off to the right, barely visible in the darkness. Straight ahead in the distance they could see a glistening from the moon off a body of water.
For several seconds the two of them just sat there and finally Negan rolled the window down. He leant an ear to the world around them and upon hearing next to nothing he looked to Marilyn. "Grab the bags."
"What if they aren't here?" She raised her eyebrows.
He continued to look at her, his eyes soft and a barely-there smile cross his face. In a manner that was truthful and slightly sad he asked, "Where else are we going to go?"
Marilyn knew that was their reality. Their current surroundings would be as good as any... if not better than another place they might find. It was tucked away from the main roads, deep into the woods and she hoped the body of water would be of some kind of use to them. Marilyn also hoped they would find their old friends somewhere amongst the hidden cabins at the camping are of Sky Meadows.
"You're right." She gave a half-smile back and Negan leaned in and kissed her once, leaving his lips against her for an extra second and then pulled away.
"If you ever want me to take you back to the Hilltop so you can live safely and with some fuckin' stability-"
Marilyn stopped him mid-sentence by putting a hand over his mouth. "I will never leave you until you push me away and tell me you don't want me anymore." She looked into his eyes and slowly moved her hand away from his mouth.
"The second half of that statement will never happen."
"Then neither will the first."
"I wanted a good life for you Marilyn."
She sighed and ran a hand through his hair, able to allow herself to engulf herself in her feelings for him for the first time now that their crazy world had come to a temporary still. "I love you." A genuine smile crossed her face, "I fucking love you."
"I fucked things up."
Marilyn shook her head. "We were at war... your words. War." She swallowed hard and looked down. "I'm just thankful you're alive. I can live with anything and everything else as long as I'm with you."
Negan kissed her again. "Let's go see if we can fuckin' find them."
"If they aren't here they may be down at the coast."
He waved her out of the car, rolled up the window and they each grabbed their bags. Negan armed himself with the best of their weapons and made sure Marilyn was ready on a moment's notice to fight if need be.
"There may be people who are occupying this place," he reminded her, "You never know.'
"Okay." Marilyn nodded.
Negan led the way, moving one step in front of her. "Just be aware of those undead fucks out there. They're here but they shouldn't be a huge threat unless there are masses of them that I'm unaware of." He managed a short laugh, "Which is very fuckin' possible."
Marilyn locked her fingers to the fabric of Negan's sweatshirt and followed him through a series of scattered trees toward the first cabin.
He turned to her when they got close. "Stay back for a second."
She nodded and crouched down as he slowly made his way to look in through a small front window to the right of the door. It appeared as though the place had been untouched and he tried the doorknob next to find it locked.
"Locked?" Marilyn whispered and he nodded before waving her back to him to look in the next set of windows.
"Empty kitchen, empty bedroom," Negan explained. "The kitchen table and chairs are down and scattered around. I don't think they're in there." He pointed up ahead toward the next cabin, "We can come back if we need to. Gotta look for that black fuckin' truck."
She nodded and clutched the back of his shirt again as they made their way up the side of the lake to the next little house. "Walker," she whispered and pointed.
"I got him." Negan broke ahead of her a few steps and plunged a knife into the walker's head as it recognized they were there and lunged in Negan's direction. When the body crumpled to the ground he stepped to the side, drawing Marilyn with him and then continued on.
With each step Marilyn felt her adrenaline rise and her heart pounded. A flush of heat filled her cheeks and she was trying to anticipate anything and everything.
The second cabin was a little bigger with a small porch out front but with a similar stature to the first. Negan crept to a window again and then immediately crouched down and pulled Marilyn with him so their backs were against the wall.
"What is it?" she whispered but wanted to shout the question from the abrupt nature of Negan's movements.
"Someone's in there."
"How do you know?"
"There's a candle lit... a couple of them actually."
"Nina?"
"Maybe," Negan told her. "Maybe not."
"Did you see anyone?"
He shook his head before whipping his head around toward the corner of the house that rounded toward the front. Negan's grip on the pistol in his hand tightened when he heard what he assumed was a screen door tap lightly against the frame as someone exited the cabin.
"Negan..." Marilyn whispered his name and he put up his free hand and crept a few feet toward the front of the house, scaling the wall as he did.
She watched from where she stayed squatted down and felt her hand begin to shake that held a gun of her own. She reached for a knife she'd placed on her hip and armed herself with both hands. Marilyn crept behind him a little closer, not wanting to put a great distance between the two of them.
There was one thing that was for certain - the cabin was occupied but whether it was Nina and Simon she had no idea. Maybe they had come to the park and were kicked out by the occupants. Maybe they were killed by them, or held captive. Maybe none of the above was true and the people inside and on the front porch were their friends.
Maybe, maybe, maybe, she thought.
The sound of the screen door opening and closing sounded off again and Negan froze himself to listen again. A familiar sound of an incoming walker filled the air... the growling, the snapping jaws. He glanced toward the front again before retreating to be at Marilyn's side.
"I got it," she assured him quietly as the walker emerged from the darkness in pursuit of the two of them.
"No." Negan walked passed her, plunging the knife deep into its brain and then letting the body fall to the ground again. He glanced up upon seeing a shadow through the window and then pulled Marilyn's arm. "Come on." He wasn't sure if he wanted to reposition himself with his gun raised in the shadow of the cabin by the wall again or bail completely. Whoever was inside had no idea who or what they were dealing with and so he feared they would shoot first and ask questions later. Before he could process any of it the sound of a shotgun cocking sounded off and there was a figure that stood by the front corner of the house.
Negan positioned himself in front of Marilyn and put his hands in the air, feeling Marilyn's grasp on the back of his shirt. Neither of them knew what to expect but they could only pray that the mystery man was Simon... or at least someone sane enough not to shoot them on the spot.
