Chewing on a piece of dried meat as she drove down the long road, Regina had one hand on the wheel. With Graham in the passenger seat, while Robyn and two other girls sat in the back.
In the opposite truck, Ruby drove with Dorothy in the passenger seat, and three young boys from her tiny militia of children sat in the back. They had decided to leave ToTo back at the prison, the old dog was very loud to be such a small creature. Graham was busy going over the map of their hunting grounds while Robyn talked everyone's ear off.
"Did you know that in a pride of lions, the lionesses typically do all the hunting?"
Robyn was leaning forward on the middle console, flipping through some old National Geographic magazine. Looking up at Regina and Graham as she spit out facts to help pass the time.
"It says here that lionesses are 30 percent faster than lions. Lionesses can run 45 m-p-h while lions can only get to 35 m-p-h." Robyn read of the paper as best as she could by herself. "What's mph?"
Not knowing what the abbreviation actually stood for and that it wasn't actually a sound, Robyn was attempting to sound it out. That got Graham's attention and he chuckled looking up from his map.
"It's not a word, it's an acronym." Graham laughed.
"A what?" Robyn scrunched her eyebrows together.
"An acronym. Like an abbreviation." Graham explained as if it was just common knowledge to a kid.
Still confused Robyn squinted her eyes and stayed silent. "Just cause you said it twice doesn't mean I understood what you meant."
"Oh really, little miss "I know everything!"" He used a little squeaky voice. "All those books you read I thought you would know by now." Graham sassed back.
"Yeah well. It's not my fault you've got rocks for brains and can't read!" Robyn challenged.
Graham gasped at the little girls gumption and soon the ranking started to pop off. Shouting over one another and turning in his seat, Graham was really arguing with a 6 year old.
"Alright! Hey!"
Regina pushed her hand back in Robyn's face to make her sit back down and she let out a frazzled "Oof!" as she hit the seat.
"Graham." Regina looked at him with a straight face.
"What?! I didn't do anything."
"Seriously? She's 6. You're 30."
"Yeah she's 6 and a comfortable little shit. She really is your niece you know." Graham scoffed and laughed, looking back at Robyn who was scowling at him. "I can read."
"Debatable."
Graham stuck his tongue out at her and she did it right back, rolling her eyes which only prompted Graham to do the same. The other two girls were giggling lowly at the whole scene. Shaking her head as they pulled over on the side of the road, Regina parked the truck.
Stepping out of the truck and opening the back door, Regina helped Robyn down before she looked around. They weren't too far from the spot they'd picked up Emma, Henry, and August all those months back.
"So! What are we gonna go after?" Robyn asked excitedly bouncing on her toes.
"Hunting is more of Graham's domain, Bean. I'm just here to supervise." Regina laughed as she reached in the bed of the truck and grabbed her rifle and Robyn's bow. "So, you'll have ask him."
Sighing Robyn followed Regina around the truck and into the little huddle with everyone else. Looking at Graham, Robyn squinted as he was smirking at her, looking smug.
"Alrighty then!" Graham smirked. "Let's get show on a roll."
Letting the annoyance roll off of her little shoulders, Robyn still planned on learning everything could. As everyone followed Graham into the woods, Regina placed her hand on Robyn's shoulder to keep her back a bit.
"Robyn." Regina turned her around.
"Yeah?" Robyn looked back and sighed as everyone was leaving without them.
"I understand that you are excited about all of this. I know I don't show it often but I love how eager you are to learn about all of this." Regina grinned.
"You are?" Robyn titled her head to the side and Regina laughed. "Like really?"
"Yes. I do want you to be prepared...And with that being said... Mija, you have make sure you listen alright?" Regina sighed. "No venturing off by yourself. Or doing anything to get yourself hurt, alright? You're still a child. Though he may not act like it, Graham is the adult here. And Ruby! So that means you listen. Got it?"
Robyn looked like she wanted to say something about the Graham part but sighed and nodded her head. "Got it."
"Alright. Go on. Go catch up."
Squeezing her shoulder and pushing her forward, Regina watched Robyn disappear into the trees and then looked around, down each side of the road and then scanning the nearby trees. Taking a step forward and then another, Regina tried to push back all the negative thoughts about what could happened.
For the next hour and a half, Graham went over the basics of what they had been learning back at the prison. From the way to set traps to how to perch yourself up in a tree and not fall off, he went through it all. But Robyn already knew all this stuff and found herself zoning out more than once. Taking a quick lunch break before they moved a little deeper into the hunting grounds, everyone was sat down around fallen trees.
So far there hadn't been a biter in sight, mainly because Regina had a few of the older men come out and clear the area before they got here. But still in the few hours they'd been gone, no new ones were roaming about.
Taking the last bite of a carrot she'd been given. Robyn wiped her hand on her pant leg and walked over to Graham where he sat talking to Ruby.
"They seem to be doing alright."
"Yeah a few more lessons and they'll be set."
"Graham."
Robyn called his name as she walked up to them. Looking over his shoulder Graham sighed and Ruby smirked, their little rival-relationship was a odd one to say the least, but funny nonetheless.
"Are we actually going to hunt today?" Robyn sassed and pursed her lips. "Or just continue you to twiddle our thumbs?"
"Do you even know what twiddle means?" Graham squinted his eyes.
"You didn't answer my questions!" Robyn scoffed.
"And you didn't answer mine!"
Sighing as they started to bicker again, Ruby shook her head reaching for another block of the dried meat she'd been nursing. Completely unaware of the figure under a cloak and pair of blue eyes watching them from beyond the tree line.
Back at the prison, Emma had been trying to find something to do with herself. Already done with her check in at the greenhouse, and Henry ditching her for hanging out with August, so she was alone and bored in their shared cell. Staring at the clean cell, Emma sighed and walked out in search of something to do.
For the last few weeks, she hadn't been having many nightmares but she would honestly settle for nightmares if it meant just shutting her mind off for a few hours during the day. It didn't help that she didn't exactly have anything to do, so just sitting alone left her mind free reign to run wild. Regina had only been gone a couple of hours but she already missed the woman.
Walking around with no specific destination in mind, Emma smiled and greeted everyone she passed in the hall. Walking past the rec room, there was the Wright family sitting together, seeing the Mother and three siblings, Buck, Libby, and Arlo. Emma felt her a sense of deja vu and nostalgia thinking of how she and August used to playfully tease Adam and chase him around the farm banging on trash can lids. Arlo was a sweet kid, definitely tall for his age, and he loved Henry; always offering to give the toddler piggy back rides.
Then she passed the main dining hall where Mr. Flik, who was giving his bi-weekly lesson to a troop of kids. All watching intently as he showed them some prototype for some other invention he'd come up with. Amongst the small crowd were his companions Francis and Slim, and his beautiful wife Atta sitting with their daughter Dot in her lap.
Continuing on her walk around the prison, Emma was about to turn a corner but stopped and jumped back right before she would crash into Roz.
"Watch it, Princess." The older shorter lady grumbled.
"Holy sh-. I mean..." Emma took a breath to calm her racing heart. "Roz." She smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."
"Mmm wouldn't be the first time." She adjusted her pointy glasses. "You youngsters always distracted. Never paying attention."
"I was just cutting the corner too fast, I wasn't distrac-"
"You weren't watching! You need to always be alert. Always watching." The older woman pointed her finger, it was hovering in the air extremely close to Emma's eyes.
Chuckling nervously as she stared at the finger, Emma slowly stepped back and quickly to the side.
"Right. Well, thank you Roz!" Emma shuffled awkwardly. "I'm uh. Just gonna go. Now. Have a great afternoon!"
Emma didn't want to make is obvious but she put a little pep in her step. Getting only a few more steps down the hall and out the door before she heard a faint:
"Always Watching!"
Taking a breath as stepped out into the courtyard, Emma welcomed cool Spring breeze. Looking around Emma quietly observed the few handfuls of people out enjoying the sun. Emma spotted Mawgli and his Dads, Mr. Fredricksen and his teenage grandson Russell enjoying a stroll, Jimmy and Sarah Hawkins, that short lady Judy who used to be a cop and oddly sounded like a carbon copy of her late mother Mary-Margaret.
Spotting Mulan out in the field, Emma smiled and decided to walk over. Getting closer Emma noticed that the woman was sat on her knees with her feet under her...just sitting there breathing with her eyes closed.
"Boo." Emma said calmly as she walked up.
Keeping her eyes shut, Mulan smirked and chuckled easily recognizing Emma's voice.
"I heard you coming from a mile away."
"Did not."
"For someone so skinny and short, you walk like an elephant."
Gasping at the slight roast, Emma picked a strand of the tall grass nearby and waved it around in Mulan's face. Nose twitching Mulan swatted it away, but it annoyingly came right back and she huffed finally opening her eyes. Glaring at Emma, she snatched the grass from the chuckling blonde.
"Why are you sitting all the way out here?" Emma chuckled.
"I'm meditating." Mulan stated matter of factly.
"I can see that but why?" Emma playful pushes her shoulder.
"Practicing Mindfulness."
"Mindfulness?"
"Mhmm." Mulan nodded.
"Oh no, have you been browsing in the guru section in the library again? Do I need to worry about you sniffing salts?!" Emma teased.
"What?" Mulan asked and laughed. "What gurus were you going to?"
Emma laughed along with her and shrugged, "I don't know. Anyone I'd seen honestly may have just been over spiritual crackheads...I'm bored." She pouted.
"Well. Find something to do." Mulan shrugged.
"Gee, if only I'd have thought of that." Emma rolled her eyes.
"Well Swan, we live in what many people would consider a Post-Apocalyptic Paradise. There's always something around here you can do." Mulan exaggerated and began listing off some options.
"Laundry?"
"Done."
"Greenhouse?"
"Check."
"Kitchen?"
"Granny banned me. Remember?"
"Oh yeah." Mulan chuckled remembering the tiny fire Emma set in the kitchen. The blonde was good at growing the foods but not that well versed on cooking them.
"Mmmm. Wanna go help clear the fence?" Mulan tried again.
Emma was going to decline but stopped to think about it. For weeks now, more and more of the dead had been wandering up the gates of the prison. And with the horses and few chickens in the fields, they would spot them and try their hardest to reach get to them. Of course when one comes others will follow, so throughout the day people would volunteer to go out and clear the fence.
"Mmm yeah alright."
Shrugging Emma agreed and offered Mulan her hand to help her up.
"Thank you." Mulan grunted as she pushed off her legs which were burning from the position she was in. "You're a true friend, Swan."
"Gods, you're getting fat." Emma teased as she hauled her up and playfully slapped her belly.
Mulan gasped and pushed the blonde away and scoffed.
"I take that back. You have brought dishonor upon our friendship." Mulan huffed and started to walk away towards the fence.
"I was joking!" Emma laughed.
"No! That's it! Dishonor! I'm gonna make a note of this. Dishonor on you!" Mulan started to rant. "Dishonor on your onions. Dishonor on your greens. Dishonor on your motorcy-"
Emma was laughing so hard her stomach hurt, but quickly covered Mulan's mouth with her hands and wrapped her arms around the taller woman.
"Stop. I was joking! I'm sorry!" Emma smiled.
"I like what I see when I look in the mirror. And I am by far the most capable and physically trained warrior in this prison." Mulan strutted and held her head up higher pushing up her chin. "Let's just be clear on that."
"You must've been quite the athlete in school then?" Emma smirked.
"I wasn't like other girls in my class, I never cut gym." Mulan shrugged.
"Walking around intimidating the boys around you, huh?" Emma smiled.
"I tried not to, but you can bet they did not appreciate being beat by a girl." Mulan chuckled.
Walking up closer to the fence, and grabbing masks off the crate near them, they could hear the snarls and clicks of the monster's teeth; Emma cringed. It was crazy to think about, but you could tell which one's had been dead for a long while and which bodies were more recent. Their skin, all pale and bruised, rotting and hanging from their bones. Some had limbs missing, others were barely clothed and others completely naked. The smells were not at all pleasant either.
Securing the masks around their faces, Emma and Mulan swapped places with two other helpers, taking the bars from them to give them a break. Looking ahead at the faces of the dead in front of her, Emma sort of zoned out for minute. Thinking of how young some of these people looked, wondering if they weren't snarling and growling at her...what would they sound like. What would they say? Can they feel what we're doing to them.
"Em?"
Jerking slightly at Mulan's presence right beside her, Emma turned her attention to her friend.
"What'd you say?"
Emma's voice came out, slightly muffled because of the mask.
"I asked if you're alright?" Mulan studied her.
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm good." Emma shook her head and wrapped both of her palms around the crowbar, weighing it in her hands.
Not thinking too much on it, she accepted the blonde's answer. Releasing a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, Mulan stepped up.
"Okie dokie. Let's get down to business."