Road of a Rebel
Disclaimer: I own nothing (unfortunately). All rights and characters in this fic belong to Robert Kirkman, AMC, Image Comics, Telltale Games and other respective owners and creators. I gain no profit from this. It's purely for fun. I only own my OC's.
Note: The following is a rough outline of what was to happen in this chapter. I apologise for not being able to write the full chapter as intended, however, life has proven hectic and along with my plans to start writing original stories, I don't have the time needed to finish all my stories. I didn't want to leave them abandoned, so I decided to give a rough outline of the story's events so that you could see how it would have progressed and ended. I hope that you understand. Maybe one day I might come back and fully finish them as intended, but as that's up in the air, I thought that I'd end things this way rather than leave unfinished. Thank you for your time.
Chapter 2 (Rough Outline)
The cloaked sniper stalks the trees looking for Molly. They stroll over Richie's lifeless body, showing no remorse for callously taking his life. Molly hides behind the tree, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. However, just as the sniper gets close enough, more gunfire reigns down on them. Molly glances to the side and sees Richard has broken free from the other's hold and is firing his handgun at the sniper.
His efforts fail as the sniper finds cover and fires back, striking Richard in the shoulder and knocking him off his feet. As the sniper reloads, Molly charges and tackles them down a grassy hill. She and the sniper engage in a brief struggle. Molly strikes with Hilda, but the sniper uses their weapon to block her attacks before counting with jabs and kicks. A plague doctor mask left the sniper's face a mystery. But, the second their rifle was ready to fire, Molly retreated to a safe distance, escaping the bullets that flew inches over her head.
Molly weaves through the trees, hoping to lose her attack, but the sniper is persistent, following her like a shadow. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots Stacy beckoning her to follow. Reluctantly, Molly follows the young girl and meets back up with the group who is tending to a distraught Richard.
''Let me go!'' He cried out.
As Gwen holds him down, Jeremy presses a ripped bit of cloth down on the father's bloody shoulder. ''Stop moving! You're going to bleed out!''
''I need to see my son!''
''He's gone, man,'' Jeremy said with a crack in his voice.
Tears streamed down Richard's face as he locked eyes with Jeremy. ''Let me get his body! I can't just leave him. He needs to be buried with his mother.''
Suddenly, another bullet strikes the ground next to them. They see the sniper has caught up and advancing on their position. Molly clenches her fist, debating with herself over the impossible decision. She knew that Richie deserved a proper burial, especially after all the kindness he showed her. However, another close call from their attacker cemented her choice.
''If we don't move now, there'll be more bodies lying on the ground. We can't risk it!''
Richard continues to struggle, but the rest of the group seem to agree with Molly. Jeremy and Gwen take Richard and help him to safety with Molly guarding the rear and pushing Stacy forward.
With the gap between them and the sniper narrowing, the group finally escape the woods and stumble upon an abandoned cornfield. They keep their heads down and watch the sniper search the area for them, even firing a few bullets in the hopes of getting a lucky shot. Eventually, a group of walkers are attracted to the noise and scare the sniper away. But, the group have to move quickly to avoid becoming a feast for the dead.
They escape into another part of the woods for cover, hoping that they will remain hidden under the cover of darkness. With the moon hidden behind the clouds, they had almost no light and didn't want to risk lighting a fire.
Molly questions the group about the sniper, but they appear to be just as mystified as she is. Thankfully, Richard's wound has stopped bleeding and is patched up. He mourns the death of his son, wishing that he could have done more. After some soothing words from his friends, he turns to Molly, thanking her for making what seemed to be the right choice and not risk the lives of the others.
''In those moments, you don't really think about what's the right or wrong choice. You just do what comes naturally. And in a world like this, our nature is the survive.''
As the group rest for the night, Molly volunteers to keep watch. A part of her wonders why she is still with this group and helping them. She didn't want to go through this all over again. This is why she left Lee's group. She thought back to her brief time with Richie and believed it to be guilt eating at her from the inside. Her mind continues to fall into a pit of grief and blaming herself for what happened. She is startled when Stacy stops by to keep her company. The two of them keep watching as Stacy talks about her sister.
''Kate is only a year older than me, but she's ten times the badass I am,'' Stacy smiled. ''She's always looking out for others and wants to help. She knows how to lead and how to fight. I always look to her when I'm in a pickle.''
''Sisters can be pretty awesome like that,'' Molly replied. Her smile falters slightly as memories of her own sister flood her mind. Before she can let it bring her down, she turns to Stacy with a smirk. ''Hey, if she's ten times the badass you are, she must be a frickin ninja.''
''You're the ninja. I'm just a girl who hasn't done anything to prove herself.''
''It's not about proving yourself. All that matters is staying alive. You do whatever you can to keep living.''
Stacy stares at her. ''Even killing?''
''Whatever it takes.''
A branch snap alerts the group to something stumbling in the shadows. Molly brings out her trusty weapon and goes to inspect the noise with Stacy. The younger woman is armed with a small handgun. They notice a pack of walkers following what appears to be a wounded survivor. Just as Molly decides to let them go, not wanting to risk the group's safety for what seemed to be a lost cause, Stacy gasps loudly.
''That's Kate!''
''Oh, shit.'' Molly grumbles, gripping her pickaxe tightly and charging towards the hoard.
The two of them fight their way through the walkers, making a path for Kate to escape. Before they are overwhelmed the rest of the group arrive to help, picking off the remaining undead. Stacy leaps into Kate's arms, blurting out what happened to them and introducing Molly before Kate could even say a word. Stacy only stops talking when she sees the forced smile Kate was wearing.
''I'm so sorry,'' Kate whispers, pulling up the hem of her bloody shirt to reveal a nasty bite wound on her waist. Stacy's face turns white as Kate continues to speak. ''We were ambushed by some gun in a mask with a gun. He picked off my group. I managed to get away. But…I looked over my shoulder for a second too long, and one of them caught me off guard. This was over an hour ago.''
With no other choice, Kate asks that they stop her from turning. While they agree, Molly is reluctant to stay for another minute longer. Her eyes shift back and forth between Kate and the hysterical Stacy. The sight brings back too many painful memories for her and she walks away. But, Richard stops her before she can get too far. He doesn't pry into Molly's back story, but he asks her to stay for Stacy's sake. Compelled to stay, Molly allows Stacy to cry into her shoulders, unable to watch as Gwen shoots Kate in the head.
Richard asks that the group give her a proper burial. Once they are done, and with the sun beginning to rise, they decide to move, hoping to reach their base at the airport.
Molly begins to head in the opposite direction when her eyes fall upon the silent Stacy. Once again, something inside Molly compels her to stay with the group, so she travels with them.
To Be Continued…